Venom and Snowflakes
by ms.hellfire
Summary: Two witches, one love, one chance. It started as a love story and ended where no one could possibly have imagined. BV, MV, and AU throughout. Gelphie. Rated M for later chapters. CHAPTER ELEVEN IS UP.
1. Roommates

Disclaimer: As unfortunate as it may be, I do not own either the characters or the central theme of this story.

My first FF. Reviews much appreciated.

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1. Roommates

It seemed to Galinda that the girl sitting on the bed across the room from her couldn't possibly scrunch herself up any smaller than she already had. It was a little strange to Galinda that the girl could stand to stay in that position for so long without moving. She was as skinny as a rail and, it seemed, had very little cushioning with which to protect herself from the constant pressure of her own elbows digging into her thighs while she read. Her head rested on her hands, and the fingers which subsequently resided on her high cheekbones were incredibly long and, surprisingly, graceful. The long hair which fell thickly to each side of her face was so black it seemed blue in the sunlight. And she was green.

Galinda felt she had a long way to fall before she should have legitimately been forced into rooming with a GREEN girl. It was upsetting to say the least. The girl was introverted and spoke little. She spent all of her free time sitting cross-legged on her bed, her tall, thin body scrunched down over her knees to study the book residing in her lap. She cared little for the way she looked, disdained everything about the "social life," and neglected to even notice Galinda, which of course, was the worst thing of all.

Being raised as royalty, Galinda was used to being admired and fawned over by everyone around her. Or at least noticed and complimented for her almost ethereal beauty. The fact that her roommate seemed immune to the natural exquisiteness which caused even women to stare at her in awe, nettled her to no end. At the very least she should have noticed.

With a huff, Galinda flounced down into the pink armchair at her desk, her back against the wall, facing Elphaba's side of the room they shared at Shiz. It was only the third day since she had arrived at Shiz and discovered that she would have to room with the awkward green girl, and already Galinda felt sure that this would be the worst five months of her life. She had however already made scores of friends who admired her and looked up to her, and oddly enough, her situation with the green girl only seemed to make her more popular. Everyone thought her some sort of martyr, but really she and Elphaba had only exchanged two or three words since being forced to room together on the first day and nothing else had really happened. Elphaba kept to herself, and didn't show any interest in anything that had to do with her perfectly manicured roommate.

Galinda's closest friends, all of which were considerably wealthier than her, but could not compare to her looks, were the most inquisitive. They spent hours questioning Galinda about everything from Elpahaba's family to her clothes to her "relationships."

"I heard that she is the Thropp third descending from Nest Hardings," said Pfannee who, like Elphaba was a munchkinlander, though of a more normal height (or lack thereof) for the region. "Her family is well respected in those parts."

"Oh, how the mighty have fallen," responded Milla with a smirk, "look at how she dresses," she continued, eyeing the dull dark blue frock which hung loosely off Elphaba's bony frame that day, "No one of 'royal' blood would dress so distastefully."

"It appears that she doesn't care at all about her appearance," Shenshen observed to muted gasps of horror from the girls. "I can't imagine that she has any hope for future relationships, dressing as she does." It was well known that one of the reasons wealthy girls came to Shiz was to meet boys from the neighboring campus or surrounding town who would be suitable for marriage in later years. Elphaba, it seemed, had little hope for that.

Galinda always made an effort to assure her friends that she was indeed, no martyr, but someone who had been given a test so as to prove herself to those around her. She also took every opportunity she got to remind her friends of how foul Elphaba actually was. It was not only her green skin, she reminded them, which made her such vile company, but her self-important attitude and sarcastic nature which cemented the deal.

Across the room a knock sounded on the door, pulling Galinda from her thoughts. She glanced at Elphaba, who was much closer to the door than she, but the green girl did not look up from her book. The knocking came again, and the green girl again neglected to pay it any heed. With a loud huff at her roommate's laziness, which Elphaba did not pay any more attention to than anything else, Galinda removed herself from her cushioned pink seat and moved to open the door to their room. Outside the door stood a messenger with a gaudy bunch of red roses, addressed to "Miss Galinda Upland." With a bright smile, Galinda accepted the roses and shut the door behind the messenger.

Flouncing across the room to the table which separated their beds, Galinda placed the roses in the most prominent spot possible, to show off the fact that she already had an admirer, not even one week into the semester. The obnoxious new arrival to their room finally drew Elphaba out of her reverie.

After looking curiously at the flowers for a moment, Elphaba suddenly spoke. "Those must be from someone you just met, huh?"

"Why would you say that?" Galinda asked with an expectant smile.

"Because," her new roommate replied with an evil smirk, "I can't imagine anyone who had actually spent any time in your presence wanting to encourage it to happen again."

The unexpectedly cold remark threw Galinda off balance for a moment, but she quickly regained her composure. Choosing to ignore the green girl's bait, she replied, "Well I can't imagine you would understand, Miss Elphaba. "

"And how is it that you deem me too dull to understand, when clearly YOU have had no problem with it?" Elphaba asked almost innocently.

It took Galinda a moment to recognize the insult to her intelligence, and when she finally had she could think of nothing suitable to respond with and so she simply stomped her foot, rolled her eyes, and stalked back to her side of the room, her perfect nose held high.

Her green roommate simply looked at her incredulously and returned to her book without a word.

Returning to her seat at her desk, Galinda pulled out a piece of scented pink stationary and began to compose a letter to her father, who was surely dying to hear from her by now.

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A few days later at breakfast, the talk turned to Galinda's green roommate's bathing habits. The discussion began as an idle question from Pfannee as to whether or not the "affliction" could perhaps be washed off. This question was met with gales of laughter from the other girls.

"Of course it couldn't be washed off," replied Shenshen nastily, "do you think that she would still be green after almost a week of being here? Surely she's showered since she arrived here." Then she turned suspiciously to Galinda. "She HAS showered, hasn't she?"

Galinda bit her lip in thought as she attempted to remember the last five nights she had spent with the green girl. It slowly dawned on her that she had not once heard the water running when her roommate was readying herself for bed each night. It had not occurred to her before that perhaps her green roommate had indeed brought her unfortunate condition down upon herself, by neglecting to bathe. Her friends sat eagerly awaiting her answer.

"Now that I think on it," Galinda replied to the waiting girls, "I cannot recall her even once bathing since we arrived here."

The girls at the table stared in shock at their poor, beautiful, unfortunate Galinda who had been forced to room with a musty green girl for the semester.

After a moment, Milla giggled. "Moldy Toady… Galinda is being forced to room with a moldy toad."

Pfannee choked on her juice and let out a laugh.

Galinda giggled and made a face at Milla who immediately started singing "Moldy Toady, Moldy Toady, it's quite unfortunate for our little 'Goldie.' Rooming with a dirty pickle, I hope she doesn't…" She suddenly stopped as the subject of her song entered the lunch hall for her usual morning cup of coffee. Elphaba's entrance made the girls laugh harder still, and it was all Milla could do to keep from yelling her new nickname for the green girl across the room.

Elphaba ignored them and left as soon as she had her cup filled.

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That night, Galinda waited impatiently for her roommate to enter their shared bathroom for her nightly bedtime ritual, whatever it may entail, so as to find out if her friends were right about Elphaba's "affliction." She even rushed her own nightly bath and hair and skin care so as to be sure that she would be awake when the green girl finally decided to call it a night. Her friends had come up with the idea for Galinda to walk in on Elphaba while she was getting ready for bed that night and find out the truth about her bathing habits or, as seemed much more likely, her NON-bathing habits.

Catching herself humming "Moldy Toady" for the fifth time that night, Galinda began to grow impatient with the green girl who was so obviously absorbed in the book hiding in her lap. Nothing seemed to distract her when she was reading. It was as if the long, dark hair which hung in silky waves on each side of her face formed a protective barrier through which only the most arrogant of noises would dare to cross. Despite herself, Galinda found herself intently studying the green girl from across the room. As she watched her twirl a stray strand of hair around her finger over and over again, it occurred to Galinda that there was no way Elphaba's hair could look so clean and soft if she had not washed it for a week. And her skin, besides being green, was flawless, something which Galinda herself, contrary to popular belief, had to work at incessantly. And though she had never really been close enough to tell, Galinda hadn't ever noticed that her roommate smelled bad. There was nothing about her, other than the color of her skin, to suggest that she did not take care of herself and bathe regularly.

She was so intent on her thoughts that she did not notice when Elphaba closed the book in her lap and leaned her back tiredly against the wall behind her bed. After closing her eyes for a moment, Elphaba turned her head to the right, and with a yawn reopened her eyes to find Galinda staring at her from across the room. "Earth to Galinda," she said loudly enough to frighten the pink nightgown clad girl out of her thoughts.

Galinda scowled at her roommate and pretended to be studying the book which she had been assigned in her "History of Popular Culture of Oz" class that afternoon.

With an unfriendly snicker, Elphaba stretched her long arms and got up from her bed. Galinda's eyes discreetly followed her roommate as she made her way into their bathroom. Now was her chance.

After giving the green girl a few minutes to begin whatever routine she followed each night, Galinda quietly rose from her bed and traced her footsteps to the door separating the two rooms. Her roommate had neglected to shut the door all the way, so Galinda was afforded the opportunity to spy on her through the crack between the door and the frame instead of walking in and risking the green girl's notorious temper.

Elphaba was standing naked in the middle of the bathroom, facing away from Galinda, the dress she had worn that day thrown in a heap against the wall. She was shaking a small bottle of something thick and clear in her left hand. When she seemed satisfied, she opened the lid of the bottle and dribbled the liquid down her chest and arms. Galinda saw small goosebumps pop out on her skin where the cold liquid landed. Setting the bottle down, Elphaba then proceeded to rub the liquid into her skin in a smooth, circular motion. After she had covered her entire body from head to toe in the clear liquid, Elphaba deliberately scrubbed it off with a rough towel. When she was finished, she grabbed a neatly folded black tank top off the sink. She still had not turned around, and so had no idea that she was being closely observed.

Galinda watched, sickeningly entranced, as her green roommate pulled the tight shirt over her head, the smooth muscles in her back and shoulders flexing as she moved. She completed the outfit with a small pair of black shorts which revealed her long legs to great advantage, should anyone care to notice. Galinda certainly didn't.

With a sigh, Galinda turned away from the crack in the door and returned to her bed. This was getting nowhere. She didn't even bother to pretend to read, and instead waited impatiently for her roommate to emerge from the bathroom. Obviously the green girl DID bathe, but not with water. So what was the problem? Galinda decided her best bet was just to ask her roommate.

However, when Elphaba finally opened the door to the bathroom and stepped out, Galinda felt herself grow nervous. Her roommate was really quite imposing, to tell the truth. Her green skin reflected the muted light in the room, giving her an almost faerie-like quality. Her big brown eyes were sharp, like her facial features, and seemed to absorb all the light her body reflected. Her hair was brushed out and reached halfway down her back, the front framing her face in a way that made her look almost sultry in the dull candle light. And she was tall. At least seven inches taller than Galinda, she had to have been close to six feet. Besides her height, what Galinda could see of her body was all smooth, toned muscle. There was not an ounce of fat on her. Imposing, indeed.

"Earth to Galinda!" Elphaba said in a loud voice, for the second time that day. "Is there something you'd like to tell me about? Do I have something in my teeth? Is my hair frizzy? Is my skin a weird color? Because if not, I'd love for you to stop staring at me."

Galinda blushed and lost her nerve. She couldn't bring herself to ask her roommate about the water. When she didn't respond, Elphaba seemed to grow angry.

"For Oz sake, Galinda, what is your problem? Have you just realized that your roommate is a green bean? It must be terrifying for you." Elphaba continued venomously. Then, after a moment, she rolled her eyes, blew out the candle, and climbed into her bed. She was asleep in minutes, safe in her hatred of the bouncy, pink clad blonde girl.

It took Galinda a lot longer to fall asleep.

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	2. A Name for Hatred and a Dream

Thanks to PinkPolkaDots59, AletheaLamathas, and AMurderOfOne for bothering to comment on the first chapter. :)

Disclaimer: Can you buy stock in Wicked?

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2. A Name for Hatred and a Dream

If there was an adjective which described the things which Elphaba hated most, it was pink. Well… and then there was bouncy. And overly enthusiastic. And frilly. And blonde. And society-ish, which was not technically a word, but she found it useful anyway. And Galinda, which was not technically an adjective, but Elphaba had come to find it incredibly accurate in describing things which were pink, bouncy, blonde, overly enthusiastic, frilly, and society-ish. Her roommate's side of the room for instance.

The walls had been re-covered with pink wallpaper, and not just ANY pink wallpaper. It was, of course, the most over the top pink available and it was capable of producing a glare so bright that even Elphaba had to wear sunscreen on sunny days in order to protect herself from its damaging effects. The chair which sat in front of the desk where Galinda "studied" was _wonderful_ as well. It was so large that it took up more space than the table itself and with its high back, diamond inlaid head and arm rests, and poufy pink decorative pillows, it was nothing short of repulsive.

If, however, one were to inquire as to the definition of the adjective "Galinda," Elphaba would have simply pointed the inquirer towards her roommate's bed. The bed was bouncy, she knew because every time her roommate stopped moving for long enough to sleep, she would bounce right back up into the air as soon as she hit the mattress. It was also pink. And frilly. And somehow, her blonde, overly active roommate actually managed to sleep in the contraption. In any case, it was interesting how Galinda could basically be used as a synonym for almost everything about Shiz that Elphaba disliked.

She smirked to herself. It really was amusing that _she_, quite probably the student who possessed the most potential out of any at Shiz, had been forced to room with a… blonde. And not just _any_ blonde, but Galinda Upland, the most blonde of the blondes. She was the cream of the crop. In fact, Elphaba had just recently witnessed Galinda bleaching her already naturally pale blonde hair in the bathroom one night when she had thought her green roommate to be asleep. When Elphaba had brought it up the next morning, Galinda had first looked startled and then pretended outrage that she would even have mentioned something so unbearably UN-Galinda. "I," she had proceeded to inform Elphaba, her normally haughty eyes holding a mixture of fear and mortification, "am about as natural a blonde as you will find." Elphaba had simply looked at Galinda until her blonde roommate blushed, coughed embarrassedly and finally left without a word.

After realizing that that she seemed to have that effect on her annoyingly perfect roommate, Elphaba began to use it to her advantage.

The first time she had made use of her magnificent new skill had been only a week ago, during breakfast. As was her usual routine, Elphaba had gotten up early and headed down to the library to study before anyone else had even dreamed of waking up. After a few hours, when the sounds of college life had begun to pervade her quiet sanctuary, she left her comfortable chair in the back of the room and made her way to the lunch hall to get a cup of coffee.

When she first walked into the large dining room, nothing seemed amiss. She received a few stares from those nearest the door, but by this time Elphaba had come to see the stares of the other students as a sign of their inherent idiocy and so she moved on without giving them a second thought. However, when she began to fill her cup, she heard a familiar voice singing over the crowd.

"Moldy Toady, Moldy Toady, fungus on her feet, so GRODY," sang out Galinda to gales of laughter from her ardent followers.

Elphaba glanced over at her roommate. The blonde dolt was simultaneously beaming at her admirers and glaring daggers at her green roommate. Obviously she had intended the ridiculous lyric to hurt the "moldy" girl, but it only made Elphaba laugh.

When Galinda's hateful blue eyes met hers from across the room, Elphaba threw her a radiant smile and returned to fixing her coffee. When she was finished, she turned around and, leaning her hip against the wall, began to stare down her flawless roommate. She made an oddly impressive figure, standing there with her arms crossed, occasionally sipping at the black liquid inside her cup, never blinking.

Galinda realized that she was being watched and shot her accustomed look of pure hatred at the green girl. Elphaba merely continued to watch her. The blonde girl stared back. After a minute or so the people surrounding Galinda seemed to realize what was going on and, thinking it some form of power-struggle (which it was), they began to cheer her on.

Elphaba had no desire to blink, but the situation had at that point become unbearably funny to her, and her eyes had begun to water threateningly. Across the room, her roommate began to blush. It was about time. After another few seconds, Galinda finally broke down and blinked. She had blushed fiercely at the triumphant smirk on Elphaba's face and with an angry toss of her blonde curls; she had turned back to her friends.

A brief, dark smile decorated Elphaba's lips as she remembered that morning. It was an amusing game they played, and Galinda always lost. Though when she thought about it, Elphaba wasn't really sure how much of it was actually a game. She despised her roommate, there was no doubt about it, however, the power struggle they had thrown themselves into seemed to have become something tangible. When Galinda was in the room, Elphaba could feel the tension between them. It was like the pressure drop she had trained herself to feel before a storm. And Elphaba was sure that at some point, this storm would indeed come.

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That night was a Friday night, and consequently Elphaba had the room to herself. She had been looking forward to some true alone-time without the stares and whispers of the other students which she received even when she sat alone in the library. It was a relief to finally have some time to herself. Even her roommate stared at her. It wasn't as blatant as the stares of the students who she shared the library with, but it was there just the same, and it got a bit tiresome being studied by everyone around her. Especially the girl she had the misfortune to share a room with.

With a content sigh, Elphaba settled herself more comfortably into the pillows supporting her back against the wall and began to read. An hour later she fell asleep, her head tipped back against the wall and the book she had been reading still open on her lap. She dreamed.

When the dream began, she seemed to be floating through the air. She couldn't figure out how. However, within seconds she had forgotten that flying was impossible. Her attention had become fixed on something much more pressing. Below her, thousands upon thousands of men stood in strict formation, looking off into the distance toward something she could not see. They were armed to the teeth and stood poised, ready to launch themselves toward whatever they were facing without a second thought. They did not move so much as a muscle. The only things moving in the fading afternoon light were their standards.

The bitter wind whipped the canvas of the decorated flags around harshly, and Elphaba had to study them for a minute or two before what she knew she was seeing clicked. She took a shuddering breath, hardly daring to believe what she saw.

There were numerous flags flying amongst the huge army below her. Each bore the symbol of a different nation or particular allegiance. On the far right of the army, farthest from where Elphaba hovered high above, she could just make out the Blue Diamonds of the Vinkus, followed by the red heron of the Glikkus, and the white, red, and gold braided leaves of Gillikin.

Directly beneath her, heading the left flank of the army flew the green and gold towers, symbol of the Oz imperial guard. Directly to the right of that were the gold chains of the Wizard's personal guard, which was stationed in the Emerald City. Then the biggest surprise, in between the Wizard's personal Guard and a standard bearing a crossed silver wand and gold sword, which Elphaba did not recognize, flew the Golden Wheat surrounded by red braided rope, the symbol of her own home, Munchkinland.

What could possibly have proven itself to be such a threat that the bickering lands of Oz could be brought together so harmoniously? The thought of something so evil was almost enough to wake her then and there, but for some reason, even though she knew she was dreaming, and had no desire to see this particular dream go any farther, she stayed asleep. It was as if her subconscious were forcing her to understand what was going on here in order to tell her something. But what could it possibly be trying to tell her?

Suddenly, Elphaba was drawn from her self-contemplation by the sight of a small, beautiful, blonde woman in a pink silk dress hovering directly ahead of, and just above the assembled masses. She was floating in a blue-tinged bubble, large enough to accommodate her and strong enough to support her negligible weight. When the woman began to speak, Elphaba was shocked to realize that the woman standing in front of this great army, between them and whatever threat they were preparing to meet, was Galinda.

She could not make out what the older, more mature looking Galinda was saying, but it seemed to her that the second she began to speak, the entire army's attention became focused on the blonde woman. There was not a sound to be heard. Only the wind dancing in among the flags dared to interrupt the entrancing voice of her roommate.

Elphaba tried to move closer, in order to hear what Galinda could possibly be saying that would quiet an army, but she could not force herself to move. It was as if the air had turned to jelly around her. Desperately she tried to remove herself from its tireless clutches, but her best efforts were met with failure. When she was finally ready to give up and just sit and wait for whatever was going to happen to happen, she suddenly shot forward, her body moving of its own accord. She was moving so quickly that the army below her became a blur and she had passed it by completely in a matter of seconds.

Abruptly she came to a stop, miles out of the sight of the army she had just left behind. She was hovering outside the window of a large tower. Looking in, she saw that the room inside the tower was sparsely decorated, dull, grey stone. In the center of the room, there stood a single table with a high-backed chair, a large book resting in its seat. In front of the table, her hands resting on its edge, facing away from her, stood a tall woman with long, black hair. She was clad entirely in black, and seemed to be lost in some thought.

Curiously, Elphaba tried to peer in the window from a different angle to get a good look at the woman, but before she could find the right position, she was startled by a loud rumbling that seemed to be coming from directly behind her. Turning to face the sound, she was met with a vision of the army she had just left behind, marching into sight around a dark forest of trees. They were headed directly for the tower and, Elphaba suddenly realized, the woman who inhabited it.

Frantically she turned back to try to warn the woman somehow, as if she couldn't hear the rumbling of hundreds of thousands of feet approaching her home. She wasn't sure why she cared so much. Obviously this woman was a threat, or every army in Oz would not have assembled just to take her down.

When she turned back to the window, the woman was nowhere to be seen. Elphaba caught her breath, and prayed to a God she didn't believe in that the woman had either left or would be back soon so she could warn her of the approaching threat. Obviously someone was listening to her prayers, because at that moment a door on the far side of the room opened and the woman walked in, this time facing the window. The eyes that met Elphaba's from across the room caused her heart to stop.

The woman who inhabited this steely, gray tower, the woman who was such a threat that every army in Oz was needed to have any hope of defeating her, the woman about whom Galinda had given a speech to encourage the battle-hardened men against her, was Elphaba.

There was a loud crash, and the door behind the older version of herself flew open, to reveal the older Galinda.

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Elphaba awoke suddenly, sweat soaking her sheets, to find a flustered teenage Galinda, trying to remove herself from the tangle of her own skirts where she had crashed to the floor. Obviously she had been drinking. With a glare, Elphaba turned over in her bed and almost immediately fell back to sleep. The next morning, there was not a vestige of the odd dream left in her mind. She would not remember it again until much later.

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	3. A New Game

This is actually only the first half of what was intended to be chapter 3, but as I am having difficulty finding the time to finish it, I thought I would go ahead and post it as two separate chapters. oh well. Not much plot progression, but it was fun to write.

Thanks to ajay3bee and pinkpolkadots59 for reviewing, as well as my hundreds of other readers who neglect to comment. It helps take the edge off of my artistic vanity. ;)

Disclaimer: *Clears Throat* I do not own anything Wicked related.

_________________________________ 3. A New Game

About a month and a half into their first semester nothing had really changed between the two girls. They still found every opportunity available to pick at one another over the tiniest things.

Galinda had finally gotten over her minor infatuation with the "Moldy Toady" song, much to both her and her roommate's great relief. She had eventually started getting on her _own_ nerves, finding herself humming the tune in the shower, or rehearsing new verses while she brushed her hair every night.

Nights bored Galinda. Curfew was 10 o'clock on week nights, and Galinda could think of nothing to do with herself afterwards. She started to spend inordinate amounts of time in the shower, just standing in the driving mist, until all the hot water was gone. It wasn't as if she needed to save any for her roommate. Afterwards, she would wrap herself in a towel and brush her hair, one hundred strokes exactly, before changing into one of her short, silken, pink (of course), shifts for bed. She would then emerge from the shower in an avalanche of steam and curl herself up in bed, trying desperately to fall asleep, as she had nothing better to do with her time.

One night, when she opened the door that separated their bathroom from their bedroom, Galinda nearly crashed into her roommate who had recently returned from some lonely midnight outing, and had just begun to change into her sleep clothes. With a tiny shriek, the green girl threw her half-naked body across the room and began frantically to rub at her skin with her blanket where the steam, which had boiled out of the bathroom when Galinda opened the door, had touched her.

After a minute or so of intense scraping of her skin, Elphaba finally relaxed a bit. She still looked as if she was in pain, but at least she wasn't clawing herself to pieces anymore. Peering at her for a moment Galinda could see that the half of her body which had been most exposed to the steam was beginning to turn red and raw, as if she were breaking out in hives. Her green roommate simply shook her head, slowly pulled on a dark blue tank top, as was usual for her to sleep in, and avoiding Galinda's eyes the whole time, crawled into her bed. Galinda could tell she was hurt because of the way she almost immediately shoved her scratchy brown blanket down to the end of her bed, rather than covering herself with it.

The blonde decided then that it was best not to ask what had just happened. Somehow, she had just wounded her roommate, and surprisingly she felt a little guilty about it.

Finally, she could bear it no more, and after settling herself into her cushiony pink bed, she called quietly, "Miss Elphaba?"

She knew her roommate was not asleep, Elphaba had been breathing deeply in and out the whole time Galinda was readying herself for bed, pretending to be asleep. But it sounded more as if she was trying to calm her currently over-active heart, to no apparent success. It did not sound natural, and so she failed to convince Galinda of its sincerity.

"Miss Elphaba..?" she called again, this time a bit more loudly. She knew her roommate was ignoring her, but Oz be damned, no green girl was going to ignore Galinda Upland, no matter how hurt she was.

"Damn it, Elphaba, I know you're awake," she nearly screamed, dropping the customary honorific. It surprised her that someone would have the guts to ignore her when she had personally addressed them. Especially someone so below her.

With a pained groan, her roommate rolled over and looked her steadily in the eye. "Yes, your highness," she asked, a mocking tone of servility coloring her words.

Galinda chose to ignore the green girl's sarcastic tone. "Miss Elphaba," she continued, returning to the honorific, "I only wished to inquire as to the…" She paused for a moment, becoming suddenly nervous as she recalled the night she had spied on her roommate, naked, in the bathroom.

Elphaba raised an eyebrow, a slow grin pulling at the corners of her mouth, "Yes, _Miss_Galinda?" she asked, putting a mild emphasis on the honorific.

Galinda felt her face heating as she stared into the sharp, brown eyes of her roommate. She never could bring herself to look into Elphaba's eyes for very long without flushing. She wasn't sure why. Perhaps it was the obvious intelligence behind those brown eyes, daring her to match them. Maybe it was the veiled threat, dancing like a flame, just out of reach, but seductively close to the surface, that caused her to look away. And maybe it was neither of those things.

Maybe it was just the fact that Galinda Upland, queen bee of the Shiz Academy, was unable to handle seeing herself reflected back at herself with such utter hatred. She did not enjoy seeing herself in that particular light. There was no one in all of Shiz who didn't like Galinda Upland. No one, that is, except Elphaba Thropp, who had long since proven herself to be the smartest, most adept student in all of their classes. It scared Galinda that possibly whatever it was her roommate hated so much about her was true, and everyone else could see it.

With a defeated sigh, she looked away from the smoldering brown eyes, and whispered, "Never mind."

When she heard her roommate snicker, she glanced up to see a triumphant smile had replaced the sarcastic grin which had previously decorated the green girl's face. Something inside her snapped.

"Damn it, you're so damn confident all the time. Do you actually think you have a reason to be? Don't you know that everyone talks about you behind your back? Haven't you seen them stare and whisper when you walk into a class, or enter the lunch hall? Have you heard what they call you? Artichoke, Green Bean, the Abominable Celery Stalk…" Galinda trailed off as she realized her roommate was laughing. She was shaking so hard it looked as if she might fall out of bed.

"And you think I care what all those idiotic people say? The only thing your friends think about is how to use you to their advantage; do you think I envy you that? You are much more stupid than I thought if you believe that you and your pathetically fake coterie could possibly hurt me," Elphaba continued. "I do not possess the same feelings as you heartless toffs. I actually care about things worth caring about, and that, my dear _Miss_Galinda Upland, will not ever include you, or your pitifully sad opinions of me," she finished almost gracefully.

Galinda stared at her green roommate. Elphaba had never spoken more than two words at a time to her before, and now here she was spouting off all this nonsense. Either way, the normally unbeatable blonde girl was at a loss for words, and so she said the first thing which came to her mind, "Fuck you, Elphaba."

Her roommate didn't miss a beat. "Anytime," she replied without blinking an eye.

Galinda spluttered in shock, "I didn't mean… Elphaba, you know I didn't mean… damn it, Elphaba, Good night!"

She nearly shrieked the last two words; the embarrassment of her roommate's unabashed teasing causing her voice to go up an octave. With a last look at her roommate, who was laughing so hard at Galinda's response that she was choking, she turned towards the wall and closed her eyes, forcing herself to calm down. Elphaba always got the better of her when she lost her temper. Tonight was just another example. Galinda resolved to do better the next time.

And it was a good thing too, because Elphaba had just found her new favorite game. Staring at her roommate was starting to get old anyway.

___________________________________________

The next day was a Saturday and Horrible Morrible had announced a co-ed poetry reading later in the day, much to the delighted squeals of Galinda and her groupies.

Galinda, so full of excitement about a CO-ED _anything,_ that she forgot she hated her roommate, had come rushing in from breakfast to announce the exciting news.

"I simply MUST find the most divine gown to wear. Surely there will be an opportunity to fraternize with… the other students when the reading is over, don't you think, Elphaba?"

Elphaba rolled her eyes. _Fraternize_? "Are you talking to me?" Elphaba asked.

"Why yes, Elphaba, I am," Galinda replied, shocked to realize that she was indeed talking to her roommate as if she were a person rather than a liability.

"Mmmhm," Elphaba breathed. "Congratulations, Miss Galinda!" Elphaba exclaimed, not looking up from the book which currently held her attention.

"Why, whatever for, Miss Elphaba?" Galinda asked looking slightly confused.

"Now you're talking to vegetables," Elphaba replied. "I can't see as how that will do anything positive for your reputation."

Galinda tried to hold it in, but unfortunately she couldn't and so horrified, she heard herself giggle at the green girl's joke.

Elphaba glanced over at her, one eyebrow slightly raised, and then went back to her book without a word.

As was usual when faced with her terrifying roommate's direct stare, Galinda blushed. Realizing that the green girl had just gotten the best of her again, if only slightly, she gave an angry huff and began searching through her closet for something appropriate to wear to the poetry reading.

She didn't want to be overdressed, as she knew that was the best way to put anyone who was slightly intimidated by her looks off for the whole evening. However, she wanted to stand out sufficiently enough that all eyes were drawn to her in the event that they were allowed a bit of social time. After some thought, she pulled out a pale yellow dress. It wasn't as frilly or poufy as she was used to, but she thought that very well suited what she expected to be the somber mood of a poetry reading.

Despite the lack of lace and frills, Galinda was pleased with the effect that the cut of the dress had on her body. The back was open, and cut just low enough that one could see the small dimples in her lower back, while the front covered her almost modestly, if not quite concealing the shape of what was hidden underneath. The top tied around the back of her neck, allowing her to show off her toned arms and shoulders, and the skirts were just short enough to show a tantalizing hint of her shapely, pale legs. She knew no one who would be there would rival her appearance.

After examining herself from every angle, she turned to her roommate. "What do you think, Elphaba?"

The green girl looked up over the top of her book. For a moment she didn't say anything, and Galinda felt her face begin to heat under the intense scrutiny of her roommate.

"So… you like yellow, huh?"

Galinda looked at her sharply. Not sure where this was going, but almost positive that the near-civil tone of Elphaba's voice promised a smart-ass, and most likely highly inappropriate comment to come, she responded with something that no one in their right mind would ever disagree with. "Well of course I like yellow, it looks fabulous on me!"

"Oh yah…?" Elphaba removed her glasses and stuck one of the ends between her teeth, pretending to be in deep thought as she followed the contours of Galinda's body with her eyes, letting them pause in the most inappropriate areas possible.

Galinda felt herself breathing more deeply than was strictly necessary when the brown eyes settled on her breasts. She knew she looked absolutely stunning, and she wanted to be sure that her roommate saw her exactly as she knew everyone else would.

Elphaba seemed unimpressed.

After a moment she put her glasses back on, and with a wicked glint in her eye said, "I think green would look better on you." Then, to Galinda's shock, she winked, threw the blonde girl one of those perfect, beautiful, sarcastic grins she reserved only for her, and got up and left the room.

Galinda ripped one of the pink, frilly pillows off her bed and threw it at Elphaba's retreating back, hitting the door as it slammed shut behind her. The girl was impossible. Even when she did her best to be civil and hold a perfectly normal conversation about the particular dress she was wearing, her green roommate could not respond in kind. She went out of her way to get the upper hand in every partial conversation they had, and she always succeeded.

She decided then and there that she would never again make any attempt to be nice to the socially-inept green girl who had been allowed the great fortune of rooming with _her_, the _fabulous _Galinda Upland.

____________________________


	4. An Old Friend and an Acquaintance

Thank you to all my reviewers, I love you!

elphaba-thropp- Yes, I did make up the symbols on the flags, and I thought they were pretty crappy myself. The dream was actually just a last minute bit of foreshadowing. So I'm glad somebody enjoyed it. :)

Arwen17evenstar- Galinda will be wearing green later, don't worry. ;)

I still don't own Wicked. Boo.____________________________________________________________

4. An Old Friend and an Acquaintance

Upon entering the hall where the poetry reading was to be held, Galinda realized that she had made an amazingly intuitive decision with the color choice and cut of her dress. She took a seat in a cushioned navy blue chair, off to one side, but still dramatically centralized.

As soon as she had entered the room she had begun to scope out her competition. None of the other girls had thought to dress in bright colors with a subdued cut, and certainly none of them had thought to color coordinate their dresses with their chairs. Galinda lips curved into a small, self-satisfied smile, she had them all beat, as usual.

After seating herself in the most quietly seductive pose she could manage, she then proceeded to take stock of the male population which had entered a few minutes prior to her arrival. She found herself to be slightly disappointed. The students who had chosen to attend the poetry reading were not the best specimens of masculinity she had ever seen.

Most of them seemed a bit on the awkward side. They held themselves not with the poised gracefulness she had come to adore in her potential dates, but with an unsure shyness which did little to endear them to her.

In hopes of finding someone who would be even remotely up to her standards, Galinda allowed herself to peruse the rest of the college boys, all the way to the back of the room where the last stragglers had entered only moments before and took up a spot against the wall near the door.

"_They're quite the spotty bunch_," Galinda thought, slightly disappointed, when her eyes found the last boy in the room and automatically dismissed him because, though he was slightly nice to look at, he was a munchkin. And Galinda liked her men tall.

She was about to turn back around and make an attempt to find Pfannee and Shenshen when she noticed the munchkin boy's eyes grow wide. He was looking directly at Galinda. Despite her initial disdain for his height, she was loathe to ignore anyone who was impressed by her beauty, and so she primped and perfected herself in preparation for when he would inevitably come to speak to her after the poetry reading. At least he was dressed fashionably.

From across the room, she heard two voices calling her name, immediately followed by Pfannee in a frilly, sky blue dress, and Shenshen in dark pink. She put on a dazzling smile for her two best friends and waited patiently for them to make their way through the crowded room to where she sat.

"You look fabulous as usual, Miss Galinda," Shenshen commented with a smile.

"Indeed," Pfannee continued, "I hadn't thought to dress as subtly as you did. Do you think the lace is too much?" She asked pointedly glancing at the layers and layers of the stuff which filled out her skirt.

"Of course not," Galinda replied sweetly, secretly thinking how wonderfully she stood out with her friends on each side of her, both most obviously over dressed, "you both look wonderful!"

As usual, they took what she said like scripture, and immediately brightened up.

"Well," Shenshen began, a look of amused disgust decorating her pale face, "obviously we are not the only ones who think you look fabulous. The Artichoke has been staring at you ever since we got here."

"What?" Galinda asked. "Where?"

Pfannee grinned at the horrified look on Galinda's face. "Over there, against the wall," she replied pointing slightly behind Galinda and off to the side.

Galinda turned her head slowly in the direction Pfannee had pointed. Elphaba had indeed been watching her. She was leaning up against the window, the late afternoon sunlight causing her hair to stand out in stark contrast against her emerald green skin. She held herself with perfect poise, her hip against the wall below the window and her arms crossed beneath her breasts. She seemed oblivious to the stares and whispers of the boys on the opposite wall.

When Galinda's eyes met hers, she smiled a slow grin. Galinda wasn't sure how the green girl managed to make the grin both suggestive and loathing at once, but the multitude of emotions that one smirk brought to her was astounding. Her face of course grew red, but this time with something more than embarrassment. Her heart was pounding in her chest, and she felt her breath hitch in her throat.

After a moment she heard Shenshen's voice. "Um… Miss Galinda? Are you ok?"

With a growl, she threw herself around in her seat, and pointedly turned her chair so that her back was to the green girl. "I HATE her," she stated, her face still flushed with anger.

"Well of course," Pfannee sympathized, "who doesn't?"

Shenshen just looked at Galinda, a thoughtful look on her face.

Madame Morrible entered at that moment, a strikingly disturbing figure in dark purple and green skirts. She was obviously going for intimidating, "_and she hit the ball out of the park_," Galinda thought.

She almost immediately forgot about her roommate when Madame Morrible began to read. She began without preamble.

Her voice painted pictures both striking and horrible. There were gasps of affront, and embarrassed chuckles. There was shuffling of feet as some became horny, and others became angry, and still others became lost in the dreamlike quality of her words. She painted a spell over them which caused them to forget where they were and fall unerringly into her thrall.

When she stopped reading, it was quite abrupt; Galinda seemed to awaken, as if from a long sleep.

Galinda could not remember the words she had just heard, appearing in a stately procession from their headmistress' mouth, but she could feel the tears still running down her face from their intensity. When she finally realized that she was ruining her flawlessly applied makeup, she hastily wiped any remnant of the offending fluid from her face, and checked her reflection in the small mirror she kept in her pocket.

It took everyone else considerably longer to return to themselves than it had Galinda, and she took the opportunity to observe those around her. Everyone seemed to be in various states of disrepair, as if Madame Morrible's words had caused them each some physical damage. When her eyes found her roommate, she was surprised to find that yet again, the green girl was watching her. However, this time, to Galinda's horror, Elphaba walked over to her, in front of everyone.

"What do you make of this, Miss Galinda?"

Apparently because they had spoken before coming here Elphaba thought that she was allowed to speak to her in public. Glancing around to see if anyone had noticed the green girl was talking to her as if they knew each other; Galinda was relieved to see that everyone was still in a weird dreamy state of consciousness and paying no attention to anything but themselves.

"I don't know, Miss Elphaba," she replied hurriedly, anxious to get this conversation over with.

"Shit, Galinda, stop looking around as if you're going to get attacked. I don't enjoy talking to you anymore than you enjoy being seen in public with me, but that's just the point, look at everyone around us."

And then Galinda realized that everyone in the room except for herself and Elphaba seemed lost. None of them seemed to realize where they were, though some of them by now seemed to be coming to their senses. She looked up at Madame Morrible. The horrible old woman was watching her and her roommate with a strange glint in her eye.

"Elphaba…" she began, turning back to her roommate.

"I know. I came out of it even before you did, and she has been watching me ever since." Elphaba looked at her, and Galinda watched her back. Neither of them said anything, but for once there was no animosity flaring between them.

_________________________________

By that time, the people around them had begun to return to themselves. Shenshen glanced over at her best friend and the green girl, looking intently at each other as if they were trying to figure something out. The look in Galinda's eyes was decidedly odd, but Shenshen decided to ignore the two girls and not say anything for the time being.

Her decision did no good however, as a moment later; Pfannee realized who Galinda had been talking to.

"GALINDA..!" She gasped in horror.

The beautiful blonde blinked as if just realizing where she was, and stepped back from where she had been standing almost within touching distance of the green girl.

Shenshen sighed. "Oh, shut up Pfannee. Miss Galinda, Miss Pfannee and I are going to go get a cup of tea, would you like me to bring you one back?"

Galinda glanced at her as if confused. "Why yes, please, Miss Shenshen," she replied, not looking at the green girl.

With a smile for Galinda and an angry glare at Pfannee, she stood up and pulled Pfannee to her feet.

_________________________________

As the two girls made their way through the crowd of people to where the refreshments were laid, Galinda looked back at her roommate. Obviously the moment had passed, because Elphaba was back to her usual brooding glare, and Galinda felt the general disdain she always felt for the green girl returning.

At that moment, the munchkin boy decided to appear at her side. For lack of any other way to extricate herself from her embarrassing proximity to the green girl, Galinda smiled her most welcoming smile and introduced herself before the munchkin boy could even work up the nerve.

"I am Galinda Upland, of the Upper Uplands." She did not add that she was Gillikinese as she thought it obvious from her perfect appearance. "And who is this that I am allowed the great pleasure to meet?"

"I am Master Boq. I am here from Briscoe Hall, though I originally hail from Munchkinland, as you can well see," he joked with a grin. Then he turned to Elphaba. "And Miss Elphie, imagine seeing you here!"

Elphaba, who had been in the middle of making a quiet exit, turned back around with an expression of utter disbelief painted across her face.

Galinda, who had been ready to bask in Master Boq's inevitable praise of her beauty, flew immediately through anger at the spotlight being taken off of her to surprise at the fact that this well-bred Munchkin not only knew Elphaba, but was obviously on friendly terms with her, as provided by the nickname.

"Miss _Elphie…?_" she questioned sarcastically. She was a bit surprised at the acerbity of her own voice, but left it at that.

Both of them ignored her.

"Master Boq." Elphaba replied.

"Oh, Elphaba, no need to be so formal. You and I have known each other since we were in diapers. Do you not remember how we used to play together?"

Galinda felt herself growing annoyed at the familiarity Boq was unembarrassed to show for her roommate.

After a moment of hesitation, Elphaba gave a slight smile and with a nod replied, "It's good to see you, Boq."

"And you, Miss Elphie," he said with a wink.

Galinda gave a slight cough, unused to being ignored, and upset that the green girl was getting more attention than she.

They both looked up, and Boq, in an attempt to include Galinda in the conversation asked, "So how do you two lovely ladies know each other?"

_Elphaba…lovely?_ Galinda thought with a hint of dismay.

She missed her chance, and Elphaba answered for her. "We are acquaintances."

"Well, my old friend and her acquaintance, would you like to join me for some tea?" Boq invited with a smile.

Elphaba hesitated with a look at Galinda. It surprised the blonde girl, because she had never seen her roommate hesitant about anything.

"I think I will pass tonight," Elphaba replied finally. "Fresh dreams, all," she finished with a smile for Boq. She did not even glance at Galinda.

As she watched the green girl walk away, Galinda felt almost upset that Elphaba had refused the invitation. She had been almost pleasant after her initial shock had faded when Master Boq had appeared. It was interesting that her roommate had a part of her other than the sarcastic, perverted side she shared with Galinda.

Pfannee and Shenshen arrived soon after she left, Pfannee applauding the fact that Galinda had "run the celery stalk off." Shenshen simply watched Galinda while Pfannee rambled about how horrible Elphaba was.

___________________________________

Boq watched Galinda thoughtfully for the rest of the night, noticing that she never once defended Elphaba to her friends. This surprised him because he had seen the way Galinda had watched the green girl when she left the room. But then Elphaba _had_ said they were only acquaintances.

_______________________________

When Galinda returned to their room later on that night, she found Elphaba already in bed, pretending to be asleep. She made no effort to be quiet as she readied herself for bed, and huffed loudly as she threw herself under her pink comforter, annoyed that _she _could feel rejected by the green girl.

_______________________________


	5. Summer and Some Change

Reviewers are my heros. If I were so inclined I would offer you something for being so amazing. But alas, I am not. So thank you. :)

.llits. .dekciW nwo ton od I

Enjoy.

5. Summer and Some Change

The second semester passed without incident. Galinda and Elphaba still had to room together. They were now on "talking terms," as Galinda called it, meaning they both studiously ignored each other during the day, but every now and then during the night they would actually have a half way normal conversation.

Elphaba had rekindled her friendship with Boq, if only because Boq would not take a hint, and surprisingly they had become close over the last couple of months. Close enough that Boq finally admitted to her that he was somewhat smitten with Galinda. Elphaba had assumed that this was the case as he asked after her nearly every time they were together, but it took him until the beginning of the summer holiday to actually admit to it.

They had met for lunch at a small café in Railway Square, and as usual Boq wasted no time before enquiring as to Galinda's health.

"Do you really care that much, Boq?" Elphaba asked. "You hardly know her, you only met her that one night," she continued, quite amused.

Boq sighed. "Elphaba, I do care. Since that night it seems I dream about her at least three times a week, sometimes more. I can't seem to get her out of my head." Seeing the look on his green friend's face, he went on almost roughly, "Oh, can it, you impossible bitch, I can't help how I feel."

Elphaba let out an amused chuckle, but then a faint look of pity entered her eyes. "Oh, Boq, Galinda does not have the heart to look at anyone even slightly 'below' her. I can't really speak for her, but from what I've seen, if you are not at least six feet tall and own at least half of a country, Galinda won't look twice at you. She cares more for what people think of her than her own happiness. She thinks that if everyone else is impressed with her then she will be impressed with herself."

"Well you don't have to be so damned harsh," Boq replied with a slightly sad smile.

"You are my friend, Boq, I just don't want you to get your heart set on Miss Galinda Can't See Anything But Her Own Reflection Upland."

Boq looked at Elphaba thoughtfully for a moment. "Well you know, I wouldn't be so sure that you know Galinda so well, if I were you. I never told you this because I was afraid I might offend you, but I thought for sure there was something going on between you two that night at the poetry reading."

Elphaba looked shocked. "Boq, that's ridiculous. We had hardly even spoken two civil words to each other before that night. Why would you say that?"

Boq smiled at the look on his friends face. "When you walked away that night, the way she looked at you was not a look you give an 'acquaintance.' She watched you until you were out of sight, and then she hardly spoke for the rest of the night. So either something was going on between you two or something you said or did before you left affected her more than you intended."

Elphaba rolled her eyes. "Well aren't you just the conspiracy theorist? Galinda Upland and the Abominable Celery Stalk, secret fuck buddies."

Boq laughed at that, and it was a minute before he was able to catch his breath. "You are vile, you know that? I have never met another woman with a mouth like yours," he informed her fondly.

Elphaba snorted and changed the subject. "Have you gotten me the books Dr. Dillamond asked for?" She had lowered her voice to barely above a whisper. For some reason she was afraid of people finding out about the research the Goat was performing on the link between humans and Animals.

Though she hadn't explained why it was such a secret, Boq humored her. "Yes," he replied in a voice equally as quiet, "they are in the bag I brought, under the table."

Elphaba flashed him one of her rare, beautiful smiles, and thanked him.

____________________________________

Towards the end of the summer, Elphaba brought him some interesting news. Apparently Galinda had written to her and invited her to come spend the next week or so with her and Pfannee and Shenshen at Pfannee's family's summer cottage on Lake Chorge.

She seemed a little skeptical at first. She and Galinda were more or less nice to each other in the privacy of their dorm room, but they both made every effort not to be seen together in public. Shenshen never made fun of her anymore, that she had noticed, and actually seemed to encourage her and Galinda's friendship for some reason, but Pfannee was absolutely as horrible to her as she had been since the beginning of the year. It was this that made her pause. It was Pfannee's family's house.

Boq however, saw it as a great opportunity, as the letter had stated that she should feel free to bring a friend if she liked. Galinda knew that Elphaba's only true friend was him, and so obviously she had meant it as an invitation for him as well. He felt his heart leap in his throat at the news, and wasted no time in convincing Elphaba of the validity of the letter. Eventually she gave in, and with a small smile at her lovesick friend, she agreed to make the trip to Lake Chorge.

_________________________

On the day they arrived, the sun was shining brightly and Boq was in high spirits. Even Elphaba seemed a little happier than usual and he caught her smiling at nothing numerous times while she looked out the window of their carriage. She had even traded her usual dull blue or black frock for a dark yellow, strapless sundress which showed off her amazingly toned shoulders and back to perfection. Her black hair was brushed out and hung loose in silky midnight waves down her back rather than the severe braid she usually wore in public.

Boq found himself staring at her in wonder more than once. She truly was beautiful. It made him wonder why she didn't allow anyone else to see this side of her. His mind went briefly to the look on Galinda's face as Elphaba walked out on his invitation that night at the poetry reading, but he shook his head. Elphaba had never given him even a vague reason to believe that she even cared about her awkward friendship with Galinda, never mind…

He smiled to himself, now THAT would be interesting.

It was just after noon when the carriage dropped them off at the beautiful summer house that was 'Caprice-in-the-Pines.' Elphaba looked almost radiant when she stepped out of the carriage, her long black hair pushed back from her face by the light breeze. Boq smiled to see his old friend so out of character. It was entrancing in a weird way.

They made their way slowly up the path that led to the large cottage, both taking their time as they stared in awe at the frivolous beauty of the place. It was obvious that Pfannee's family had made this place as breathtakingly beautiful as possible simply because they could. The obviousness of this fact did nothing to reduce the cottage's innate splendor.

They climbed the steps and crossed the large front porch to the door and knocked, but no one answered. After waiting on the front porch for a few minutes, they heard voices in the back yard, and promptly made their way behind the house. As soon as he saw the girls' faces he knew Elphaba had been tricked.

_________________________________

When Elphaba and her munchkin friend, Boq, walked around the corner of the house where she, Pfannee, and Shenshen were making their summer break, Galinda thought she might die of shock. She glanced over at her friends, and was surprised to see Pfannee in a crumpled heap on the ground, laughing so hard she had started to cough because she could not catch her breath. Shenshen was looking between Elphaba and Galinda, a look of horror appearing on her face. Galinda realized what had happened.

Galinda looked back at Elphaba, whose face was blank as she watched her planned embarrassment fold out before her eyes. Boq looked just as horrified as Shenshen.

"Damn it, Elphaba, were you born to plague me? Did I ask for your association?" She asked hatefully, her face twisted in anger.

The green girl looked at her, for once in her life at a loss for words.

"Pfannee," Galinda began, looking at her friend laughing on the ground, "this is not funny. I don't know where you ever got the impression that it would be a good idea to get your laughs at my expense, but you were wrong. You have ruined my entire summer."

Galinda settled her eyes on Shenshen and was surprised to see that a look of anger had replaced the horror which had previously decorated her face.

"Galinda," Shenshen began, "you are almost as awful as her," she said with a look at Pfannee. "No one, not even your 'horrible roommate,' deserves to be treated the way you two have treated her. You are unbelievable." With that she got up from her seat, walked over to Elphaba, took her by the arm and led her up to the house. Galinda was surprised to see that Elphaba didn't resist.

Pfannee had, by that time, stopped laughing and was regaining her composure enough to get up off the ground and return to her seat across the table from Galinda. "Oh, come off it," she said to Galinda's disbelieving stare, "it was just a joke."

Galinda got up and left without a word.

__________________________________

"Do you know what's funny?" Shenshen asked Elphaba as she led her up to one of the guest bedrooms. When the green girl didn't answer, she went on. "Galinda was actually the one who made me see you as a person." She flinched at her own callousness, but she noticed that Elphaba seemed not to have noticed, and so she continued. "That night at the poetry reading, when Madame Morrible had finished reading and I saw the way she was looking at you, it made me look at you differently as well. I'm ashamed to say that it took Galinda looking at you the way she did that night, to make me realize that you are just like us, just green. And smarter," she added flashing a grin up at the green girl.

"Again with the poetry reading?" She thought bitterly. Elphaba looked down at the girl who was leading her, arm in arm, through the huge cottage. She found it hard to believe that one of Galinda's devout followers had told off the dazzling blonde in her defense. Suddenly she stopped, and roughly pulled her arm away from the surprised brunette. "Is this another part of Pfannee's joke?" She asked Shenshen suspiciously.

Shenshen gave her a look of pity, and before she even spoke, Elphaba knew it wasn't. For some reason, Shenshen truly was trying to be nice to her.

"Miss Elphaba, I'm not going to stand by anymore and watch Galinda join in on Pfannee's heartlessness simply because she cannot face her own feelings. You are a person just as much as the rest of us, and I hate the fact that it took me this long to see it. Your skin color is no longer an issue for me, and I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me for how I have treated you since we met. Also, I hope that you will stay here at least for the night, if for no other reason than to piss Pfannee off. She does deserve it for what she did to you, after all." She flashed Elphaba another smile, this one more conspiratorial than the last.

The apology was sincere, and Elphaba forgave her then and there, even the look of pity was forgiven. Elphaba hated people who thought to pity her. She smiled briefly in response to the pretty brown headed girl's request and motioned for her to lead on.

_____________________________

Galinda sat alone in the garden, swinging gently in the white cushioned swing hung from the branches of a huge old oak tree. She could not get the look on Elphaba's face as Shenshen lead her away out of her mind. She truly had not meant to say the things she had said, but when she was around the green girl, she felt such a swirl of unbidden emotion that she could not think straight and, inevitably, she found herself pushing her roommate away.

From across the yard, she saw the munchkin boy approaching her. She let out a sigh and put on her "society girl mask." When he arrived, he gave her a slight bow and asked if he could join her on the swing. Galinda gave him a pretty nod and budged over to make room for him. He sat quietly next to her for a moment, and then he spoke.

"I do not understand why you treat her like that," he stated, almost questioning her.

The mask fell away. Galinda looked at him in mute surprise. This was not what she had expected. She was well aware that the munchkin boy had a crush on her, as Elphaba had it let it slip weeks ago, and so she had expected him to lean toward that topic. Instead he was here defending the green girl. First one of her best friends and now this boy who was apparently head over heels for her, both had chosen to defend Elphaba over following after her. What was this summer coming to?

She started to defend herself and then gave up. With another sigh, she replied simply, "Neither do I."

"You know…" He looked at her for a moment and then glanced away as if changing his mind about what he was going to say. "She really is a good person, if you just give her a chance," he continued finally. "Once you get to know her, her skin seems almost normal. Well maybe not normal, but it fits her personality. She's one of a kind. Hard as nails on the outside, but inside her somewhere is a soul, which she will deny with her last breath, but which is beautiful just the same. She cares about you for some reason, Miss Galinda. She would never admit it, but somewhere along the line she has grown fond of you. Well, more like protective, but she sees something in you that you don't see in yourself. I can see it in her eyes when she talks about you…" He finished slowly, realizing that he had been rambling and may have said too much.

Galinda looked at him and laughed. "She is indeed, one of a kind, is she not?"

Boq laughed with her. "That she is, Miss Galinda."

Galinda leaned over and planted a chaste kiss on Boq's lips, surprising herself with her own forwardness.

He blushed in response, but nodded at the look in her eyes. He was still madly infatuated with her, but he knew she did not feel the same way. It made him a little sad, but he was surprised to find that he felt ok. He knew he had her friendship now, even though it would never be anything else, and that was good enough. "Why don't you go talk to her?" He suggested slowly.

Galinda was staring past him at something out of his line of sight. He turned around in his seat to catch a glimpse at what had her so enthralled. He was not particularly surprised to see Elphaba striding gracefully past them towards the lake which was the focal point of the rear of the house. He smiled kindly at the beautiful blonde girl who was having such issues dealing with his old friend. "Now's your chance to apologize." He knew she needed to apologize to Elphaba and so he watched a bit sadly as she left his side for the green girl's.

_________________________

Galinda followed slowly behind her roommate as she continued on her path towards the lake. She didn't call for her to wait up because she felt like she needed to rehearse what she was going to say, since obviously she was not very good at ad-lib when it came to the green girl.

Elphaba stopped on a covered bridge which crossed one of the creaks that fed Lake Chorge. As she moved closer, Galinda noticed what she hadn't noticed earlier. Her roommate was not wearing her usual unflattering blue frock, but a dark yellow sundress, which revealed her arms and back to Galinda who watched as she leaned gracefully against the railing of the bridge, her shoulder blades made more prominent by the position she was in, forearms resting on the railing and one knee bent slightly outwards towards the water.

She had also worn her hair down. The way Galinda liked it, she finally admitted to herself. It hung in an entrancingly dark mass on either side of her face as Galinda watched Elphaba watch the water flowing underneath the bridge.

Suddenly she was drawn out of her studious reverie by a voice. "Are you just going to stand there watching me all night?" Elphaba sounded more emotionally exhausted than anything else. It surprised Galinda that her roommate had allowed her to see such blatant proof that she did, indeed, possess feelings.

When she didn't respond, the green girl turned to face her roommate. Galinda tried hard not to blush when Elphaba looked at her, but found it even harder than usual when she noticed the breeze pushing the already clinging dress against her roommate's surprisingly perfect body. The setting sun cast a halo of reflected light off the water which surrounded the green girl in a very flattering fashion. Galinda always found it hard to face down someone who she felt intimidated by and not let herself blush. As usual, she failed spectacularly when faced with her roommate.

Elphaba smiled at what Galinda knew where perfectly flushed cheeks, but this time she did not say anything cold and calculated like Galinda had come to expect. She simply watched her. And waited.

With a shuddering breath, Galinda moved herself closer to her imposingly tall roommate. She was close enough that she had to tilt her head up in order to look the other woman in the eyes. "Elphie…" she began softly, and then stopped, embarrassed that she had unconsciously used the name Boq had called Elphaba when they met at the poetry reading. Elphaba only raised an eyebrow, and so Galinda continued as if nothing where out of the ordinary. "I wanted to apologize… for what I said when you arrived earlier."

"Galinda, I don't expect you to be my friend, but considering the fact that, as unfortunate as it may be, we are roommates; you could at least refrain from going out of your way to make my life any harder than it already is."

"I don't think it's unfortunate," Galinda replied softly, still staring up at her roommate. She put a tiny hand up to the green girl's face and ran her fingers gently down a smooth green cheek. Elphaba's eyes fluttered shut at the contact and reopened so quickly that she would have missed the green girls' reaction had she not been watching for one. "You're beautiful…" Galinda began, but her roommate cut her off with a sigh. Long green fingers reached up and removed Galinda's hand from her face.

"Pfannee is coming. We wouldn't want her to see you touching me. She'll probably think you're diseased and force you into quarantine," she said, a hint of her usual bitterness returning.

Galinda turned her head. Pfannee was indeed nearly half way from the house to where she and Elphaba were standing. She turned back to her roommate whose eyes were flicking between Pfannee and her. Elphaba still held Galinda's hand in her own, but with a brief squeeze, she released it whispering, "Fresh dreams, my sweet." Then she was gone.

Galinda watched; mute, as Elphaba met Pfannee on her way up to the house. Her roommate simply stood there as Pfannee went off on one of her rants, probably informing the green girl of how unwelcome she was. Even from a distance, Galinda could see the blank look on her roommates face as she took Pfannee's abuse without a word. She didn't even fight back. After a moment she shook her head and left Pfannee standing there, shouting after her, but Galinda was too far away to hear what was said. When the green girl had disappeared into the growing shadows around the house, Pfannee continued her walk down to where Galinda stood watching.

"Don't worry, Miss Galinda," she began by way of a greeting, "she is leaving tomorrow."

Galinda nodded, her roommates melodic voice still echoing in her head, "Fresh dreams, my sweet."

By the time she awoke the next morning, the green girl was already gone.

______________________________


	6. Of Princes, Frogs, and Rights

A sincere thank you and a heartfelt apology to those of you who are still waiting and will read as I finally continue my story. It has been far to long. Be forewarned, however, that this is possibly the shortest chapter I have yet written. It was necessary to my mind to pause where I did. But Chapter 8 is already in works and will be here soon. Btw, this is the correct title of this chapter, but it was too long to enter in the title box for the chapter.

Disclaimer: See chapters 1-5.

6. Of Princes, Frogs, and Rights of the Mighty

Summer passed, and through the last month of their break, Galinda found herself to be haunted by "nightmares," as she described them to her friends. The beautiful cabin of "Caprice-in-the-Pines" did nothing to quell the ever-repeating scene which had snuck its way into and through her consciousness. Some nights, she didn't sleep at all. Lying awake through the early morning hours, Galinda would find herself visualizing her final conversation with Elphaba over and over again. Occasionally, these visualizations would fade into dreams of that particular scene and though, after waking, she could not bring to mind what had actually happened in the dream, Galinda would wake in a cold sweat, her heart pounding, as her roommate walked away.

At first, Galinda could not understand the difference from her reaction in the real world from that in the dream to the green girl's departure. Mostly because she could not recall the exact circumstances of the dream, where she could remember every detail from what had actually occurred. All Galinda knew for sure of the dream was that Elphaba had left her once again, but somehow, in the dream, it had seemed for good. The night it had actually happened, Galinda had only felt a vague, but insistent pang of loss radiating through her body, as if she were catching fire on the inside. Nothing like the feeling she had when she woke from the dream. Slowly however, she began to remember more and more of the ever-recurring dream and it occurred to her that something had begun to go wrong.

The first time she noticed the change in the dream from what had actually occurred, was exactly one week before her and her friends' return to Shiz. It had been a particularly hot, muggy day and she, Shen Shen and Pfanee had spent the last hours of dying summer sunlight drinking lemonade and discussing the upcoming semester on the back porch of the cabin. As the sun set, the conversation faded, and Galinda drifted into a light doze. The dream was there waiting for her.

The change was immediately apparent. Galinda found it hard to believe that she hadn't noticed how odd it was before. They were in a round, stone room, brightly lit by the large window commanding the eastern side of the room, and for the first few seconds of the dream, Galinda was aware, and what she saw frightened her. Awareness faded quickly though, and within seconds, the army she could see marching straight for the tower was as familiar to her as her own face. As the army grew closer, however, a rising sense of unease grew within her.

"Where IS she?" She heard herself mutter.

The army was gaining ground by the second. At that moment, a stone on the wall began to move and with it came an entire section of stone… and a tall, green woman dressed all in black.

"Elphaba. What took so damned long?" She asked.

Elphaba gave her a somewhat sad smile and replied, "I had something to attend to, please forgive me, Glinda."

The two women stood that way for what seemed a long time, staring into each others' eyes from across the room, blue meeting hazel in a strange, stone room, high in the black tower whose foundation would soon be shaken by the army at its feet. But in that moment, nothing else existed for either woman, and Galinda felt herself begin to walk towards the green woman.

"Glin…" Elphaba began as the beautiful blonde made her way closer, but Galinda silenced her with a soft finger on the green woman's lips. This close, Galinda could see the impact that time had had on her old roommate and the effect was entrancing. She had gotten taller, if that were possible and she towered over Galinda, her once lanky body had filled out and despite the fact that she was dressed in completely concealing clothing, it was apparent that her body had become one that many women would envy. Galinda's mouth quirked into a small, sad smile, and she stepped closer to the tall, green woman, putting their bodies only millimeters apart. She could feel the heat rising off Elphaba's body and it made her shiver.

"Glin," Elphaba began again, "I have to go. I understand why you did what you did, and in all reality, it probably only helped MY plans. So thank you. But, as I said, I can't put it off any longer."

"…Can't put what off any longer, Elphie?" Galinda asked.

"Oh Oz, Glinda, please don't call me that. It will only make things harder. You shouldn't have come here in the first place, I am afraid… this may end up worse than I thought."

A haunted look had entered the green woman's face as she said this, and Galinda felt a strong urge to wrap Elphaba in her arms and take her away from this lonely place. The chance was taken from her, however as the first explosion rocked the tower. Both women jumped, and a look of mild panic danced through Elphaba's eyes.

"Glin, I'm serious, I have to go." She moved quickly. With the feline grace and odd strength Galinda remembered so well, Elphaba picked her up by her shoulders as if she weighed nothing and moved her to the side. When her feet touched the ground, Elphaba placed a hand on Galinda's cheek. "Goodbye, my sweet," She said quietly. And as quickly as she had come, she was gone.

Galinda felt tears enter her eyes. "Elphie…no," she begged softly. Only the walls heard her quiet plea.

Galinda woke in a cold sweat, choking on her tears. The dream was fading quickly, but she could still remember that last instant when she begged an empty room for her Elphaba's life.

Galinda arrived in her dorm room the night before the first day of the term to find her roommate was out. Going about her nightly routine, Galinda discovered the green woman was a nuisance even in her absence. Her oils had taken the prominent place on the shelf below the bathroom vanity where, prior to the summer, Galinda's makeup had claimed residence; there were books on the side of the tub and the side of the sink, and worse, to Galinda's mind, was the presence of Elphaba's black tank top and silky black shorts hanging from the doorknob.

Unbidden and most assuredly unwanted, the image popped into her mind of how her roommate had looked in the offending outfit one particular night. She banished the thought at once.

Close to midnight, when she had finally readied herself for bed, Galinda took a deep breath and stepped out of the bathroom. Elphaba still had not returned from wherever she was. With a sigh, the normally bouncy blonde settled herself in bed. Within minutes, she fell into a troubled sleep full of dark, clouded skies, and the undeniable feeling of having lost something dear to her and, having no idea what she had lost, searching desperately for a fleeting memory of a memory which no longer existed.

The final class of the day, and Galinda still had not seen her green roommate. She didn't care of course, it was just strange. Just before class started, Galinda walked in and found a seat towards the back of the room with Milla and Pfannee.

"Where is Shen Shen?" Galinda asked a little sheepishly. She was still not completely sure where she and Shen Shen stood at the moment. After Elphaba had left "Caprice-in-the-Pines," Shen Shen had seemed to tolerate Galinda and Pfannee, but no more. It was obvious that she was not pleased with them. Pfannee didn't seem to care one way or the other. Galinda, of course, did not enjoy being lukewarm with ANYone.

By way of an answer, Pfannee laughed out loud and pointed forward a few rows to their left.

Shen Shen, it seemed, had made a new friend. She was a good deal taller than Shen Shen, and had the most beautiful black-blue hair Galinda had ever seen, hanging long and straight down her back. She was dressed all in black and in a style Galinda recognized as just having hit "fad" status in Oz. Before Galinda could ask Pfannee who she was, Shen Shen leaned close to the new girl (for obviously she was new if Galinda did not know her and she was friends with one of her own coterie) and said something which made the new girl laugh. When the new girl turned her head to respond to whatever Shen Shen had said, she met Galinda's eyes from across the hall. It was Elphaba.

The smile on the green girl's face grew decidedly smaller at the sight of her blonde roommate, but did not disappear altogether. Their eyes remained locked for several moments before Elphaba raised one eyebrow slightly, and returned her attention to Shen Shen without a second glance. Pfannee laughed again, and Galinda finally remembered to breathe.

"You can close your mouth now, dear," Pfannee giggled. "I know it's absolutely scandalous, but it seems Shen Shen has taken our dear toad under her wing."

"Don't call her that," Galinda replied somewhat distractedly. "When did this come about?"

"Well, I can't honestly say how it happened, but they have been together all day. They sat together in our first class this morning, and every time I have seen that awful green thing since, Shen Shen has been right near her. Do you think she's under a spell?"

Galinda began to reply, but before she got the chance, something else caught her eye. And everyone else's in the room as well. The door which the professor used to enter directly onto the stage from which he lectured had opened, and in stepped the most beautiful man Galinda had ever seen. He was dark and sun-browned, with slightly bleached out brown hair and large, brown eyes. He was dressed in plain, though elegant, tight brown breeches and knee-high dark leather boots. His snowy white shirt was tight through the waist and shoulders but flared out slightly down the sleeves before becoming tight again at the cuffs. And every part of his body which remained uncovered was covered in swirling blue tattoos. A Winkie prince.

The room grew quiet. He seemed oblivious to the attention he was receiving. His eyes were locked on something to Galinda's left.

"Elphie," he questioned in a soft voice, which nonetheless resonated around the room.

The class took a collective breath, and as one focused their attention on Galinda's green roommate. Galinda felt her heart begin to pound in her chest. Elphaba had a small grin on her face as she replied. "Hello Fiyero. I see you have finally been kicked out of every college in the Vinkus? It's good to see you."

A decidedly odd smile appeared on the prince's face, and he walked quickly up the steps to where Elphaba was seated. Then, in front of the entire class, the beautiful man from the Vinkus pulled the most shunned student in all of Shiz history to her feet and swept her into a more than familiar embrace. To Galinda's horror and the shock of everyone in the room, Elphaba smiled, closed her eyes, and said, "I've missed you."

After class, the story was on everyone's lips not of the astounding news that a true PRINCE of the Vinkus was going to be attending Shiz, but that that very same prince seemed to have once had a relationship with the sour asparagus.

Galinda was in shock. First her best friend chose Elphaba's company over hers, and now this. Why was the green girl suddenly the talk of the school? Well, not that it was exactly unusual, but this time, when Galinda heard other students speak of her roommate, it was not with disgust or terror, but rather with jealousy and awe. As soon as he had entered the classroom, Fiyero had immediately become the most sought after male in the school, and yet he paid no attention to the affections the girls threw at his feet. He only had eyes for the green girl. Elphaba, for her part, did not seem surprised, but after that initial contact, she made no move to claim her prize.

That night, Galinda waited impatiently for her roommate to return from wherever she had disappeared to after class. She did not put too much effort into wondering however, as she felt an odd rage rushing through her body when her mind hit on the prince who was undoubtedly making his affections know to the green girl at that very moment. It occurred to her that she was jealous.

Galinda Upland! Jealous of a green person! Of course it was that. SHE was the queen bee of Shiz academy. SHE was the one who, by the rights of blood and upbringing, should have the prince kneeling at HER feet. What right had Elphaba to a prize such as him? It was then that she decided she would win Fiyero away from her roommate, whatever it took. And the plan began to formulate in her mind. Several minutes later, as Galinda paced the room, lost in her plans, the door opened, and Elphaba entered, a smile on her decorating her perfect lips.

_Let the games begin_, Galinda thought to herself.


	7. Something Wicked

**This chapter is basically for plot progression's sake. It moves a little more quickly than what I would normally like, but never fear. The bombs dropped in this chapter will be explained. All in good time, my friends, all in good time. AUness ensues.**

**CurlyHairedGirl- The story between Elphie and Fiyero is… :)**

**Really guys? Over 500 readers and only 5 reviews? That's some really crappy percentages there. Tell me what I am doing right. Tell me what I'm doing wrong. Tell me if you love it or hate it or wish I would drop off the face of the planet. ConCrit is love. In my head, this is a hugely long, epic story if you want it. But I need to know how the direction things are going feels to you guys. **

**Anywho. Enough ranting. I love my reviewers AND my silent readers. Enjoy.**

With a loud crack, Galinda wiped the smile off Elphaba's face. The green woman reeled back a few steps before coming to a stop, a look of anger and confusion growing in her eyes. A handprint had already begun to form, a darker shade of green on her cheek. "Damn, girl, what was that for," she spat angrily.

"Where the hell have you been?"

"What is wrong with you?" Elphaba asked. "Since when do I answer to you?"

Galinda seemed to settle down some. "Where were you?"

Elphaba rolled her eyes. "Why do you care?"

Galinda switched tactics immediately. "Oh Elphie," she simpered, "…you don't care if I call you that right? Because that's what that Winkie prince called you and obviously you guys are friends and we're friends too, and so I can call you that too, right…Elphie?"

Elphaba rolled her eyes for the second time in ten seconds; privately hoping that her moody roommate would not continue with her auctioneer's run on sentences for fear that her eyes would roll right out of her head in response.

"I wasn't aware, sweet, that friends hit each other in greeting. Perhaps it is a custom in the Glikkus? You must forgive me. Though I AM well traveled, I must admit that my travels have never taken me quite THAT far into such barbaric lands. However, I wouldn't want to offend you, so…" Here she paused, the smile returning to her face, and, reaching across the intervening space, smacked Galinda across the face, just hard enough to be sure she felt it and continued on, "Since we have now completed the friendship rituals of your land, you may call me whatever you wish to call me."

Elphaba had a hard time controlling the smart ass remarks that popped into her head at the look on her roommate's face. 'Perfectly executed,' she silently congratulated herself. Galinda's eyes were open as wide as they could go, her immaculately shaped eyebrows nearly disappearing into her hairline, and a small, graceful hand was lightly holding the slightly reddened cheek with which Elphaba's hand had made contact.

Fortunately (or perhaps unfortunately) Galinda did not rise to the bait. Instead she took a deep breath, as if to calm herself, and giggled sweetly before responding as if to a none too bright child. "No, silly Elphie, we don't hit each other where I come from. In fact, any form of physical violence is strictly frowned upon in the upper class, which of course means that MY family would be very disappointed in me if they knew that I had..."

Elphaba couldn't hold it back any longer. The laughter that had bubbled up inside of her the moment Galinda began her self-important speech erupted in a loud snort, cutting off the oblivious blonde, and leaving Elphaba in state of painful, half-suppressed giggles which finally ended several minutes later with the green girl leaning heavily against her bed trying desperately to catch her breath and Galinda simply standing in the middle of the room, her other cheek brightening to match the one Elphaba had slapped as she attempted to understand the joke.

When she could breathe somewhat normally again, Elphaba straightened herself from her hunched over position and walked over to look down at her roommate, who by that time was beet red upon finally realizing that the joke was on her. "You, my sweet," the green girl stated in a most serious voice while placing a hand on Galinda's shoulder, "are almost too much for ME to handle. And THAT is saying something." She then turned on her heal, flipped her glossy black hair over her shoulder, and sauntered off to their shared bathroom to wash, leaving her utterly confused roommate staring at the bathroom door for several minutes before she went to sit on her bed in defeat.

….

Though her plan to take control of the situation with her roommate had been an utter failure, Galinda was not completely disappointed with the results. 'It figures,' she thought as she stared at the back of Elphaba's head (which was currently bobbing in laughter at some remark that Shen Shen, who was sitting to Elphaba's left had shot off at Avaric, who was sitting to Elphaba's right). Her green roommate had taken control of the situation without so much as a blink, but they had come to an impasse in their relationship, it seemed, finally donning the title of 'friends.'

Both of them had either conveniently forgotten or chosen to ignore, for the time being, the conversation which had occurred between them at Caprice in the Pines several weeks prior. But after that first awkward argument their first night back, it still colored their relationship. Elphaba continued to refer to Galinda as "my sweet" in the privacy of their room, and though she laced the pet name with her typical acidic sarcasm, Galinda always saw a faint hint of that beautiful smile tug at the corners of Elphaba's lips as she said it.

And Galinda, for reasons she couldn't even begin to fathom, had suddenly found it very difficult to call her green roommate by her proper name, and so, as she had announced to Elphaba the night before, she had officially taken ownership of Fiyero's pet name for her roommate. Elphie was HERS now! Upon hearing Galinda's sudden pronouncement concerning the blonde's ownership of her nickname, the green girl had looked up from the book resting in her lap, her lips twitching into a slight smile and replied "As you wish, my sweet. I am yours now." Then she had graced Galinda with her breathtaking smile, and with a secretive wink she had returned to her book. Oddly enough, there had been no trace of sarcasm in any part of her green roommate's response.

In any case, Galinda felt she could at least claim one small victory from the night of their argument. After Elphaba had finished bathing and returned to her bed and her book, Galinda had finally gotten her to admit where she had been all day. Apparently, she and Fiyero had gone to a pub in town so that they could "catch up," as she had not seen him for several years. Best of all, when asked about her relationship with the Winkie prince, Elphaba had simply laughed and said "Years ago, my sweet, we tried to make it work, but there will never be any.. love between us. You are free to chase him as you wish." Though there had been an almost imperceptible pause before Elphaba had said the word 'love,' and though it annoyed her that the green girl had known exactly what was going through her head, Galinda chose to ignore the possible implications and was thrilled with the news that Elphaba was NOT seeing her future husband.

She had decided she was going to marry him on their first date. She glanced over at the beautiful prince who was seated to her right and smiled. Fiyero smiled back and laced and arm around her shoulders just as Dr. Dillamond entered the room. As the goat began to lecture, Galinda began to plan the outfit she would wear on their date tonight. It was their one month anniversary and she was going to absolutely DAZZLE him.

…..

As they walked hand in hand up to the doors of the pub, Galinda checked her reflection in the mirrored surface of the door and smiled in satisfaction. As she had planned, she looked dazzling. Her short black dress, while not overly showy, just barely missed indecent and showed her long, pale legs to great advantage. The admiration and lust evident on Fiyero's face when he had picked her up had proven that.

The pub was crowded, but they found an empty booth without much trouble as most of the crowd seemed focused on the pool tables across the room. After Fiyero returned with their drinks, Galinda focused on turning the conversation to their inevitable marriage.

"Fiyero, sweetie, don't you just love this," she asked him with a seductive fluttering of her eyelashes.

Fiyero removed his eyes from where they had been staring several inches below her chin and blushed as he responded "Love what, dearest?"

Galinda sighed loudly, and put on a look of disappointment. "Why, us, of course," she replied with a pout of her perfect lips. That, of course, had the desired effect, and her prince turned his full attention to their conversation.

"Oh, Galinda, dear. Don't be upset with a man for admiring his girl," he said with his most winning smile. "Can you really blame me? You are gorgeous! And of course I love us. We are perfect together!"

Their conversation was going perfectly. Fiyero knocked back the last of his drink and Galinda went in for the kill. "And when we are married, we will be even MORE perfect," she concluded excitedly. His reaction was not exactly what she had hoped. At the mention of marriage, he choked and, muttering something about needing a drink to clear his throat, jumped up from their table and practically ran to the bar.

Galinda sat alone slightly annoyed as she waited for her prince to return. The laughter from the crowd around the pool tables was beginning to get on her nerves. She had never understood what was so amusing about knocking some balls into a hole with a stick. Several minutes later, Fiyero had not returned, and Galinda got up to see what was taking him so long. Before she had made it to the bar, she heard his voice calling her name from the direction of the pool tables. She stopped and turned to face him, tapping her foot impatiently as he made his way towards her. "Where were you, Fiyero? I was waiting for you to come back to our table so we could discuss our future wedding."

The prince blanched and changed the subject once again. "Come on, Galinda. Elphaba is here. She and Avaric have got a bet going on a game of pool and she is DESTROYING him!"

Before she could voice even a word of protest, Fiyero had his arm around her waist and was steering her in the direction of the pool tables. By the time they had cut to the front of the crowd, Galinda was fuming. "Fiyero, I am trying to have a conversation with you, why do you insist on…" Galinda stopped dead in her tracks, the sight before her silencing her completely.

The crowd around them was no longer laughing, though an obviously defeated Avaric standing to one side of the table was explanation enough for the burst of obnoxious laughter that had so annoyed Galinda earlier. Instead, the crowd was hooting and cheering at the sight of a stunning green woman dressed in the fashion of those who disdained current Ozian trends for something far less proper, in a tight white tank top and extremely low cut jeans, who was standing at the other end of the table, one hand holding a pool stick, the butt resting on the floor, the other hand laced through a mass of shiny brown hair as she received what was apparently a VERY congratulatory kiss.

Galinda stared on in horror, as an obviously breathless Shen Shen finally pulled away from Elphaba and with a wink for their adoring audience placed her arms around the green woman's waist from behind and snuggled her chin down into the crook of Elphaba's neck, just as Galinda and Fiyero arrived in front of them. "Congratulations, green bean," Fiyero laughed. "I see you haven't lost your flair for the cruel and unusual yet?"

Elphaba showed her perfect teeth in an evil grin. "Never," she replied. She, Fiyero, and Shen Shen laughed together for a moment before Fiyero remembered Galinda, who was standing behind him, attempting to hide her shock.

At the look on her face Fiyero frowned. "What's wrong, sweetheart," he asked.

Deciding to ignore the elephant in the room, Galinda pouted and ignoring Fiyero turned to Elphaba, `doing her best not to glare at Shen Shen's arms lying possessively around her waist. "I have been trying all night to tell Fiyero how much I love him and want to marry him, but he won't talk to me about it," she whined.

If she hadn't been watching for it, Galinda would have missed the lightening quick flash of her roommate's eyes to the Winkie prince. Before Elphaba could respond, Fiyero sighed and turned Galinda to face him. "Galinda, sweetie… I love you too… and I love us together. It's not that I wouldn't marry you, it's just that I can't."

Galinda stared at him in surprise. "And why is that?" She asked suspiciously.

Her boyfriend was silent for a moment before taking a deep breath and responding. "Because, Galinda, I am already married."

Galinda felt her face grow red in barely suppressed rage. "TO WHOM?" She nearly screamed.

An utter and complete silence had fallen on the group of people surrounding them as they watched the drama unfolding before them. The next words spoken, though spoken so quietly as to be almost a whisper, could be heard by everyone around the pool table.

"To me," Elphaba said.


	8. A Storm on the Horizon

**The Darklight Angel- Prepare to become more confused. However, as promised, everything will be explained in due time. Hang in there! :)**

**CurlyHairedGirl- You originally reviewed Chapter 6 of the story, but it was posted as Chapter 7 on ff because I posted an author's note in the Chapter 6 spot, which I have since deleted. Nothing **

** wrong with your review page, just me messing with the system. Hope that clears up any confusion.**

**Everyone else- Thank you for reading or reviewing! My heart is smiling. :] **

**A small note: Up until now this story has been predominately a BV character study centering on E and G's growing relationship. Originally I had intended on it staying that way, but I decided to add in a secondary plot which has been annoying my brain for several weeks now. I realize that the apparently sudden change in direction may seem weird, but bare with me. Also keep in mind the foreshadowing in several of the previous chapters. **

**Enough blah and blab, make of it what you will and enjoy. **

**On to the story…**

"_Night's Heart and Day's Light _

_Met alone; ensued the fight_

_The birth of shadow, fire, and flight_

_The chaos, opposition brought_

_Peril, death, destruction wrought_

_She stood alone, maiden fair_

_Stole the voice, on wings of air_

_Death, he'll be the just reward_

_Dealt the blow, naivety's sword_

_Born of shadow, fire, and flight_

_Given once, his first birthright_

_Returned once more, a lightless night_

_Birth of Evil, Death of Sin_

_Join the world, once again_

_Entwined by iron chords of fate_

_Night through Day opens the gate_

_Shadow stirs, Fire wakes_

_Day to save, Night's sacrifice makes_

_Night's Heart and Day's Light_

_Face alone the final right_

_The death of shadow, fire, and flight_"

The last syllable was spoken into utter silence. Even the most enthusiastic of slackers were caught in the spell of his words. The seconds clicked by on the clock on the wall and still, not a word was spoken. Not even the sound of breathing could be heard; a slow suffocation of the mind seemed to have settled upon the class as a whole. Seconds more passed, which could have taken hours or minutes or days, and none would have known the difference. The dismissal bell rang.

Slowly, the droning buzz of thirty-something voices began to form into something like reality and the class arose as one, packed up their books and pencils and left. None were the wiser to what had just occurred, and no mind dared remember the words spoken only seconds past. All except one.

"Elphaba," Dr. Dillamond called from the front of the room, "may I please speak with you for a moment?" Elphaba looked up from where she had just finished copying down the final sentence of the poem, and nodded her assent. She did not turn when the Galinda, who had been waiting impatiently for her by the door, huffed her annoyance and left without a word.

Elphaba sighed inwardly, grateful for an excuse to once again avoid the explanation she knew she would eventually have to give the blonde for last night's revelations. Beside her, ShenShen rose and smiled, reminding Elphaba to meet her outside of the library when Dr. Dillamond had finished speaking with her, and with a brush of her hand against the green girl's cheek left the classroom.

Last night had been interesting. Elphaba had not meant for Galinda to find out about her marriage to Fiyero for some time yet, and certainly not in that fashion. What had once been a closely kept secret was now common knowledge to the entire student population at Shiz, though fortunately for her, the true nature of their marriage and the reasons behind it were not even part of the many errant and amusing rumors which had sprung up over night. It made her nauseous to think what it would be like had THAT come out last night as well. Though Elphaba hadn't told her everything, ShenShen had known about Elphaba and Fiyero's marriage for a week now, as Elphaba had felt it only fair after several months together that her girlfriend know the truth. Shen had taken the news in stride as Elphaba had hoped she would, and simply replied with; "He may have you on paper dear, but I've got you in my bed. I think it's clear who received the winning hand," and then proceeded to make Elphaba very aware of who had won that particular bet.

She had avoided explaining herself to Galinda last night by staying with ShenShen until early that morning when she was sure Galinda would be asleep. She then returned to their shared room silently and swiftly for just long enough to grab a change of clothes and her books before returning to spend the rest of the morning with ShenShen. Avoidance was most certainly not Elphaba's usual way of dealing with things, but some part of her was afraid of what would happen when this particular conversation finally came to fruition.

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Elphaba rose from her seat and moved to the front of the room where her professor stood patiently next to his desk. "You wanted to speak to me, sir?" She asked.

Dr. Dillamond did not immediately reply, instead he stared at her for a moment, chewing his bearded underlip in thought. Nearly a minute had passed while the two stood in companionable silence, neither sure what the other was thinking, before the Goat responded. His voice was hurried and nearly a whisper, so Elphaba had to lean forward slightly to hear. "There is someone I wish you to meet. It will take some time for this person to arrive, so you must keep what I say to yourself. There is much at risk here."

Elphaba frowned and glanced covertly around the room without moving her head before asking; "Is it to do with your research, sir? I thought we were doing well?"

The goat's eyes flashed momentarily in what almost seemed anger as he replied. "Yes, we have actually gotten further than I had originally thought. The poem I read today, while in sense relevant to the chapter we are studying in class, was not really meant for that purpose. It was part of an experiment I began last night, the nature of which I do not feel comfortable revealing just yet. Especially under these circumstances…"

He let the sentence trail off without an explanation so Elphaba verbally prodded him on. "What do you mean, sir? What circumstances?"

Dr. Dillamond squinted as he glanced up at her as if sizing her up. "It seems… Elphaba, it is my best guess that Madam Morrible has become suspicious of your involvement with my research. I believe that she is having me followed, and I fear for your safety if the true nature of my work were to reach her ears. I must ask that you let me continue on alone for the time being."

At the mention of the Headmistress, Elphaba had felt a gnawing in the pit of her stomach like she sometimes felt before a particularly violent storm, but her momentary fear was shattered by anger when she processed the Goat's last sentence. Before she could even voice an argument, Dr. Dillamond interjected. "Please do not argue with me Elphaba. I know it is not in your nature to back off from a challenge and in the future that will serve you well, but this is bigger than you can even begin to imagine. Things are about to happen, Elphaba, which are much, much worse than the suppression of Animals. This is only the beginning. What I read today proved that much at least. But I fear to say anything more in such a public place. You MUST listen to me, Elphaba. DO NOT try to come to my lab after hours anymore. That is an order and I expect you to obey it. This is what I want you to do. A month from now is the Ozdust Ball. You will attend just long enough to be seen and then you will leave without any sort of commotion. Just slip out quietly. Return to your room and lock the door behind you. Miss Galinda has a key," the goat reminded her before she could interject, and then he continued on, speaking quickly but quietly. "Approximately an hour before the dance is set to end, Morrible is planning on giving a speech. As soon as she begins speaking, you will hear a crow outside your window and then as silently as you can, you must climb out your window and meet my contact at the base of the willow tree outside. They will be waiting for you. That is all I can tell you right now. I fear I have kept back too long already. Do not speak of anything I have said to ANYONE. Not even your roommate. And when the time comes, follow my directions EXACTLY. This is of the utmost importance. Now go, and be careful of your actions."

The old Goat left without a word of farewell, and Elphaba wasted no time on unnecessary and futile argument before grabbing her bag and books and hurrying off to meet ShenShen at the library as planned.

….

Neither of them noticed the glint of sunlight reflecting off cold steel poorly hidden behind one of the many long tapestries adorning the walls. Both had been in too much of a hurry to escape the pressure of secrets and fear which the professor's words had left in their wake. Eventually, both regretted believing that at least at that point, they were safe.


	9. A Question of Intentions

**Shade Asylum- Thanks for giving this story a chance! Glad you liked the bar scene. It was rather amusing to write.**

**nutnut- Another chapter! I believe that's three in less than a week? A record for me, to be sure. Thanks for noticing. :)**

**CurlyHairedGirl- The answers are coming. Just not this chapter. ;)**

**Enjoy.**

A warm breeze floated through the leaves of the trees, lifting each to face the sun for a moment before it passed, dancing its way along the sparkling rays of light as it made its way across the immaculate lawn fronting Shiz University. The breeze swirled and twirled along as if dancing, brushing a cheek here, teasing some hair there, careless and free it floated along until, just before blowing itself out, it touched the flushed cheek of a beautiful blonde sitting alone beneath a willow at the edge of the woods. With it, the breeze carried to the girl all the scents of its experience. A faint hint of tobacco smoke and cut grass, clean sweat and the flowing water of the canal, to Galinda it all smelled stale.

She had been sitting without moving for several hours and the breeze finally snapped her out of her stupor enough for her to notice that her legs had grown painfully numb in the interval. With a sigh, she rose and groaned as her legs began to tingle back to life. A sound caught her attention from behind her, deeper into the woods, and she felt her breath catch in her throat at the sight that met her eyes. From her position against the trunk of the tree she was using as support for her unsteady legs, she was hidden to the subjects of her sudden interest.

Elphaba and ShenShen had just appeared, making their way slowly up through the trees hand in hand. The sound which had enlightened her to their approach had been ShenShen's delighted laughter as Elphaba stopped to pick a daisy and placed it gently into ShenShen's thick brown hair. Galinda watched the scene unfolding before her eyes as if in a trance, the pain of her slowly recovering legs long forgotten. It was replaced by a suffocating tightness in her chest as she realized that Elphaba was wearing the yellow sundress she had worn out to answer the letter she thought Galinda had written inviting her to visit at Caprice in the Pines.

She looked every bit as beautiful as she had that day, perhaps even more so. Standing there with ShenShen, her thumb tracing small circles along the tanned skin of the brunette's cheek, her eyes lacked the anger, hurt, and confusion which had been so painfully evident upon her discovery that her invitation had simply been a petty joke. Instead, as Elphaba looked into ShenShen's eyes, Galinda saw contentment and happiness. The knot in her chest seemed to grow even tighter at the realization.

There was a different look growing in ShenShen's eyes. Galinda spent several seconds wondering if what she saw could really be true of someone looking at her green roommate, and several more seconds debating on leaving when she realized that it was indeed lust she saw lurking there. But, then again, she couldn't possibly move without giving herself away (or so she told herself), and so she stayed.

Elphaba and Shen Shen were moving closer to her, Shen Shen pulling Elphaba along by her hand, a vague sense of urgency making her sun-browned cheeks flush a darker shade. Only feet from Galinda's hiding place, Shen Shen turned around to face Elphaba. The green girl responded by grabbing her by the wrists and shoving her backward against the tree directly across from Galinda, pinning the brunettes arms above her head and pinning her body to the tree with her own deceivingly slim build. Galinda felt her breath quicken as she watched the rise and fall of Elphaba's breasts against the other girl's body. Unbidden, the picture of herself in ShenShen's place crept into Galinda's mind and she felt an involuntary tightening between her thighs as she imagined Elphaba's hips pressing into hers with the same urgency the green girl was showing as she moved against ShenShen. When Elphaba finally released ShenShen's wrists the brunette wasted no time getting to what she wanted. Pulling the yellow sundress over Elphaba's head so roughly that Galinda heard the fabric rip as it came off, Shen Shen pushed Elphaba down onto the ground and straddled her. "Oz, you're fucking beautiful," ShenShen announced.

Galinda heard the throaty whisper meant for Elphaba's ears alone and realized how true it was. The throbbing between Galinda's legs grew painfully insistent as she stared at the lithe form of her roommate, a faint sheen of sweat covering her perfect green skin. Her ribs and hip bones made glaringly prominent by her prone position along with the small amount of lacy black lingerie covering the area between her legs and her heaving breasts, the stiff nipples showing through the thin fabric, made Galinda's knees weak.

Just as ShenShen was reaching behind Elphaba to undo her bra, a sudden cheer erupted from several yards away, and with an annoyed sigh from Elphaba, and a glare from ShenShen it was all over before it had even begun. By the time Elphaba had pulled her slightly torn sundress back over her head, Fiyero, Avaric, and a somewhat abashed looking Boq had appeared, insisting that the two women continue their previous activities. Galinda watched as Elphaba gave them a quite evil, teasing smile, and passed her tonge across her lips before replying, "That's exactly what I intend on doing." She then turned her attention to ShenShen and smiled seductively. "Come on, babe. You've got a private room, am I right? Let's get out of here. As much as I enjoy an audience, I wouldn't want to make anyone jealous when they realize they're never going to get what I'm going to give to you." And with that, they were gone.

Galinda's heart thundered in her chest. Just as she had said the word 'audience,' Elphaba had looked directly at Galinda's hiding place beneath the willow branches.

….

Sure that she had worn a path between her bed and the bathroom by now, Galinda made herself sit down on her bed and wait for Elphaba to return. She wasn't nervous, she told herself severely. She just needed to find out the truth about her roommate and her boyfriend. Her foot began to tap of its own accord. And it had nothing to do with what she had seen beneath the trees earlier that day. Right.

Surely they were done by now. It had been hours since Galinda had returned to Elphaba's and her room. The sun had set long ago. Surely it couldn't take THAT long. It had only ever taken a few minutes in Galinda's experience. Perhaps it was different when you were with a girl..? Galinda shook her head to banish that particular line of thought.

Galinda yawned in impatience, and heard a key rattle in the lock. Suddenly she began to sweat, her unacknowledged nervousness erupting in a shiny layer of perspiration below her hairline. Elphaba entered the room, her hair disheveled and her green skin slightly flushed, the torn strap of her sundress hanging at an angle from her shoulder. Dropping her bag on the floor at the foot of her bed, Elphaba sat down on her bed to remove her sandals, and finally noticed Galinda watching her.

Elphaba paused what she was doing. "Hello, Galinda."

Galinda simply looked at her. She was not sure what to say now that she finally had her roommate alone. "Hello, Miss Elphaba," she finally replied.

Elphaba raised one eyebrow slightly as she reached down to remove her other sandal. "So we're back to being proper, are we?" She dropped the shoe on the floor next to the first and sat back up. Placing the butts of her hands to either side of her thighs, she propelled herself backward so her legs were spread out straight across her bed and her back rested against the wall. Crossing her long legs at the ankle and her arms beneath her breasts, she let her head fall back against the wall, closed her eyes and said, "Ok, MISS Galinda. Out with it. What do you want to know?"

Galinda took a deep breath. And everything she had been holding in for two days, everything that had had her sweating and fretting and nervous, all of it fell out of her mouth at once. "You are MARRIED to Fiyero? MY boyfriend? And you're fucking ShenShen? So you're GAY? And you didn't tell me that you are MARRIED? To my boyfriend? And you call yourself my FRIEND? And what kind of MARRIED woman makes out with another GIRL right there in front of her HUSBAND? Who is MY BOYFRIEND! And in public? And you're GAY?" Galinda finally ran out of steam and at that point noticed her roommate shaking in silent laughter as she waited out the half screamed tirade Galinda had unleashed upon her. "You think it's funny," Galinda spat.

It took Elphaba a moment to calm down enough to answer in a voice somewhat resembling normal. "No, my sweet, the situation is not funny. You are. Please, do us both a favor and breathe before you suffocate yourself and I have to give you mouth to mouth. I'm not sure if the gay thing is contagious or not, but I'm sure you don't want to find out."

Galinda blushed at the image presented by her roommate and all its implications, and took a deep breath in an attempt to calm her nerves. "It doesn't… I mean, I don't… I'm not..." Galinda took a chance and glanced at the green girl only to find her once again visibly shaking in barely restrained mirth. "Damn it, you bitch!" Galinda screamed. "SHUT UP!"

The green bitch had the audacity to smile at her! Smile! Before she responded in a voice full of mock concern, "Oh… slightly touchy, are we?"

Galinda took a deep breath. She replied sweetly, "Elphaba. For once in your life, just this once, please, make an effort to act like you are a normal human being, with feelings and the capacity for empathy. And please, refrain from your normal, charmingly witty sarcasm. Because yes, I AM slightly touchy. I just found out that my boyfriend can never marry me, even had I wished it, because he is already married to my roommate who doesn't even want him because she is a… a homosexual vegetable!"

Elphaba gave her an amused look but refrained from laughing. "Really, Galinda? Homosexual vegetable? That's the best you can come up with?"

Galinda blushed yet again. "Elphaba…" Galinda warned her in a voice like smooth silk. It seemed they had fallen back into their usual game of "watch the green one make the transparent one become a ripe tomato." No matter what she did, Galinda could not seem to gain the upper hand with her roommate. Nothing fazed the green girl.

So Galinda switched tactics. "ARE you… gay?" Galinda finished in a half whisper, suddenly nervous now that she was actually discussing it with the green girl.

Elphaba studied her for a moment before responding. "Galinda, one thing you will find out about me is that I do not like labels. Too much of my life is already written out for me by the presence of the labels attached to me since birth. When its possible, I just go with the flow. Let life take me where it will, and instead of fighting it, running with the opportunities I'm given." Elphaba raised her eyebrow and smiled suggestively. "ShenShen just happened to be one of those opportunities that I felt inclined to run with."

Galinda felt a surge of… annoyance, jealousy, anger…she wasn't sure how to describe it, at the way Elphaba described ShenShen. So it was all just a game to her, then? And she was married? Galinda had refused to speak about it with Fiyero and had been avoiding him for the past two days so she could get the truth out of Elphaba about their marriage. The opportunity had finally arisen and Galinda found herself afraid to ask the green girl sitting on the bed across from her. She stared at her hands for a moment before glancing back up at Elphaba who was sitting patiently on her bed, her eyes closed and her head back against the wall once more.

Galinda noticed for the first time that her roommate had taken to wearing her hair loose of late. It was brushed back from her face where she had run her hand through it before taking her seat on her bed, and hung down in a thick, straight mass to each side of her face, emphasizing her high cheekbones. The muscles in her biceps and forearms were flexed slightly where her arms crossed, and her collarbones made two hollow half moons at the base of her neck.

Elphaba opened her eyes. "Are you done staring yet, my sweet?"

Galinda continued to stare at her roommate for a long moment before she made any response. The cockiness and confidence in her voice, which normally would have annoyed the blonde, instead made her angry. "How can you always be so damned sure of yourself," she asked in a quiet, but heated voice. "How is it, Elphaba, that YOU can have someone like ShenShen hanging all over you, AND be married to a prince at the same time. And get away with it? Why would he marry you in the first place? I realize that you are next in line to become Eminent Thropp, but even that is not a title sufficient to grace Fiyero's name. And surely he didn't CHOOSE to marry you?" Galinda paused and took a deep breath. "Do you think that you are something special? Anyone who wanted to could paint their skin, dye their hair black and give themselves a title for good measure. The Eminent Thropp really has no power, except in name. And from what I've seen, you'll give yourself to anyone who will have you. Are you really so desperate? You are nothing special, so why you?"

Elphaba, as usual had a response ready. "You know, Galinda. There is a lot about me that you DON'T know. And you sure as hell missed your mark, implying that I am a slut. Really, and to think that I thought you actually had a brain hidden in that blonde shell of yours. I most certainly do not fall into every bed I am invited into. Fiyero has tried for years, and I never slept with him. Nor will I ever. Our marriage has been arranged since I was born. Some plan of my father's…" She hesitated before continuing on in a rush. "Anyway, like I said. You missed the mark entirely."

Galinda was fuming. Like she actually had any business having an arranged marriage with someone as high as Fiyero… and like Elphaba would actually be able to deny anyone who tried to slip into her bed. She had seen the way the green girl had reacted to ShenShen earlier. And then, an idea began to form in her head. She had finally thought of a way to put herself in control.

Before she could reconsider her intended actions, Galinda rose quickly and gracefully from her bed, knowing full well that the white silk shift she was wearing left little to the imagination, and made her way slowly to the other side of the room. Her roommate simply watched as she drew nearer, no reaction apparent on her face. When she reached Elphaba's bed she straddled the green legs stretched out before her with a pale hand and a leg to either side of the green limbs. Elphaba gave no reaction other than the slight twitch of an eyebrow. A sign of amusement. Galinda turned her elbows inward putting a slight emphasis on her full breasts, which were nearly falling out of the top of her slip, and finally received a reaction, however small. Elphaba's eyes flashed, for only a second, down to take in the sight Galinda had prepared for her, and then leapt back up to Galinda's face, an appreciative smile dancing across her lips.

Galinda did not acknowledge the green girl's silent approval. Staring into the golden-brown eyes before her, she moved one arm forward so her hand sat behind Elphaba's back. Her leg followed suit, the inside of her thigh pushing the hem of her roommate's yellow sundress up to her waist, revealing the black lace beneath. Galinda moved her face to within an inch of her roommate's, her breasts pressing hard against Elphaba's, their breath mingling in the miniscule amount of space left between their lips. Elphaba's eye's fluttered shut, and Galinda allowed herself a congratulatory smile.

Suddenly Elphaba opened her eyes, and before she had a chance to think, Galinda was on her back, her arms pinned above her head, and Elphaba was straddling her, her long green legs wrapped around Galinda's waist. There was a mischievous glint in her eyes that caused Galinda's heart to pound. She imagined that Elphaba was watching her heaving chest in admiration and that she was entranced by the way Galinda's golden hair was spread across her bed… but she imagined wrong.

"Is that the way you want to play?" Elphaba questioned her in low, steely voice. "Galinda. Sweetheart. I can teach you ways to play THAT game like you never dreamed of," she finished in a whisper, half an inch from Galinda's face.

Galinda felt her face grow red, this time in rage. "You are NOTHING! You act so high and mighty, but the Eminent Thropp is nothing but a name. You will be the ruler of a piece of Oz with no political power in the grand scheme of things. Fiyero is the prince of a land nearly as powerful as the whole of Oz. You are an INSULT to him!"

The green girl sitting on top of her stared down at her with no emotion to speak of. With a sigh, she let go of Galinda's arms, untangled her legs from around Galinda's waist and stood up. "You know so much Galinda, and yet there is so much you don't understand," she stated, her voice soft. "I've got to go. I'll see you tomorrow." And with that she was gone, the door closing gently behind her.

…..

Several hours later, Galinda lay in her bed, unable to sleep. There had been something strange about their conversation, but she could not place her finger on just what it had been. However, that was not what had kept her awake. Oddly, she was a little hurt that Elphaba had not even been interested in her. Her response to Galinda's seduction had been purely show, once again proving that the green girl was entirely in control, that much she had made obvious. What was it that ShenShen possessed which she herself lacked? Her lip trembled as she lay in bed, alone, the image of Elphaba's face, eyes full of disappointment as she looked at Galinda before walking out the door, playing over and over in her head.

Galinda rolled over and smashed her face into her pillow to blot out the image. And in a brief moment of clarity, it came to her just what had been bothering her about their conversation. When explaining that she and Fiyero's marriage had been arranged, Elphaba had said "…some plan of my father's…" But her father was a traveling preacher. He had no power to arrange a marriage with someone as high as what Fiyero would become.

The Eminent Thropp was always a female. Elphaba's father was not the Eminent Thropp. Her grandmother was. So how could Elphaba and Fiyero's marriage been arranged by some great design of her father's when… and then it hit her, exactly what her roommate had meant when she had informed her of how little she truly understood.


	10. Variations on the Concept of Green

**.Walk.- This chapter is dedicated to you, to heal the cut. :]**

**nutnut- I am delighted that you like my Elphie. To know that even one person believes I have written a character well makes my day, as characterization is one of my most favorite aspects of any story.**

**CurlyHairedGirl- It seems you enjoy the interaction between Elphie and Galinda the most in this story. There isn't much (if any) interaction between the two in this chapter, however, next chapter will hopefully make up for that. After all, I believe a ball is mentioned at the beginning of this chapter…? :]**

**nirky- Thank you for the compliment, it made me smile. I'm glad you are enjoying the plot. A couple of other people have commented on my particular development of Elphaba, perhaps this chapter will help explain that, to some extent at least.**

**Everyone- Sorry for the wait, hopefully this chapter is worth it. I just couldn't quite get everything to come across as well as I wished. Let me know what you think. Enjoy. -Ms.**

Chapter 10: Variations on the Concept of Green

"Are you ready?" Asked her assistant, as though it really mattered whether she was ready or not.

"Does it make a difference?" The woman asked as she glanced at herself in the full length mirror attached to the wall.

This one was smart. She would do well for herself. The assistant smiled at the woman who she guessed would become a decent friend, at least as far as that was allowed to go. "No, your Highness, it doesn't. But I suppose you already knew that?" It wasn't really a question.

There was a knock at the door, and the woman before her sighed in resignation.

The assistant looked up from where she had been adding some last minute touches to the lay of the woman's gown. "Its time, your Highness. Take a deep breath and pardon me for saying, but kick some ass."

The woman turned back to her just as the doors to the stage opened, the grey smoke meant to add a bit of flair to her entrance boiling and writhing around her, and let out a full throated laugh. Her mock bow to the assistant was majestic and teasing all in one. "If you insist," she replied. She turned on her heel and disappeared into the smoke, the silver mass swirling and twirling to mark her passage as it lapped at the train of her dress. There was silence.

Then, just before the doors slammed shut behind her, the booming roar of applause and cheers assaulted the ears of the assistant who stood in awe, for the first time, of a person she had been hired to serve. By the sounds of the crowd, she was doing just as the assistant had suggested, though perhaps all it had taken was her apparently inherent ability for commanding the attention of those surrounding her. Never the less, the assistant smiled. She knew her advice was unnecessary but still felt some pride, as she knew her charge was currently kicking some ass with the force of her presence alone.

Galinda awoke to the sound of knocking on her dorm room's door and excited squeals coming from the girls responsible. She wiped the drool from her chin and brushed her hair out of her eyes. A glance to the other side of the room confirmed what she already knew to be true; Elphaba had spent the night out, once again. She had neglected to come back to their dorm room after Galinda's attempt at seducing her. Galinda sighed and put on her happy face to greet the bundles of high pitched giggles and flurries of motion that were Pfanee and Milla, both obviously too worked up to tell her what all the commotion and the early morning wake-up call were all about.

It made no difference though, as Galinda was fully aware. They would spill their guts before too much longer. She walked over to her vanity and began to comb out the tangles in the mass of blonde curls laying down her back and waited patiently for Milla and Pfannee to settle themselves on her bed.

When they had finally calmed down enough to speak, Pfannee took the lead. "Miss Galinda, we have all been excused from classes today!" A long squeal was added on to the end of this sentence for good measure. Galinda, who was, for some reason, not feeling her usual perky self today, was growing quickly annoyed with the sound.

"How wonderful!" She exclaimed. "To what do we owe this unexpected holiday, ladies?"

Milla took a deep breath and responded, her words running together with the speed of her speech. " Madame Morrible came into the dining hall today and announced to everyone present that..that…that… THE WIZARD HAS INVITED EVERYONE WHO MATTERS TO A BALL THIS AFTERNOON!"

Pfannee took over. "All of the students and staff at Shiz have been included as an extension of Madame Morrible's invitation! Apparently the Wizard has some great matter he would like to announce. But what do we care? A BALL, GALINDA! AT THE EMERALD PALACE!"

In an unconscious attempt to redirect her unusually sour mood, Galinda realized she was slightly intrigued. Despite all her family's wealth and notoriety, they had only been invited to the Emerald Palace one time, when the Wizard took power, and Galinda had been too young to recall the event. Her parents still spoke of it as if it had been yesterday. They spoke of the people, the architecture, the art, and the money. But mostly, they spoke of the almost ethereal power of the man who had become their new leader. Her mother and father had described it all so frequently that Galinda felt as if she could remember it as well, though they professed that even their grandiose descriptions did no justice to the truth.

Galinda smiled. "Well, ladies…" She paused and took in the hound-like stares of dogs to master she was receiving from the two girls. "It seems as if we have a ball to prepare for." Milla and Pfannee squealed again, this time in perfect unison, and jumped off her bed to wrap her in an exuberant group hug. Galinda took it all with the proper dignity befitting a leader, as her parents had taught her, and as she so obviously was.

Although they spent several hours preparing, and the time passed quickly, the carriage ride from Shiz to the Emerald city, while it only took half as long, seemed to take twice that. Galinda sat staring out the carriage window, occasionally joining in the banter of her classmates, and fanning herself half-heartedly against the unusual fall heat. Her forest green dress, while strapless, was long and heavy. Combined with the excruciatingly tight corset she had bought specifically for the dress, the several layers of bustles beneath her skirt, and the glaring sunlight, her fanning brought little relief.

While she had been preparing herself for the ball, the porter had arrived at her door with a message from Fiyero. Pleasantly surprised, Galinda had opened the letter, hoping to find an invitation to attend the ball with her prince. She had been only slightly disappointed.

_My Dearest Galinda, _the letter began.

_As you well know, being Prince of the Vinkus, I must attend to certain duties on occasion. The matter which the Wizard will be speaking on prior to the ball requires my attendance during the ceremonies. I wish I could have informed you earlier, but as I only just found out myself early this morning, I must leave for the Emerald City without delay. Though I will not be available to escort you to the ball, I hope to see you there, and sincerely wish for the opportunity to make it up to you with the honor of being your dance partner for the evening._

_ All my love,_

_ Your Prince, Fiyero_

Galinda tried to sigh. Her corset laughed at her and foiled the attempt spectacularly. This day was not going nearly as well as she would have liked. Another useless attempt at a deep breath, and she gave up. Shallow and unsatisfying breaths they would be then. '_Just like you,'_ said a voice in her head. And she realized, without much surprise, that it was right.

They arrived at the Emerald Palace only a quarter of an hour before the Wizard was to deliver whatever grand announcement he had in store for them, and so Galinda had little time to take everything in as she would have wished. The one thing that stood out the most about the Emerald City was most assuredly the color. Or rather color-S.

Galinda realized that she had never fully understood the broad range of tone and shade that the color green could possess. Everywhere she looked, it seemed that a different variation was waiting to meet her hungry eyes. Every sign and streetlamp, every swirl of lettering across frosted sea foam storefront glass, every flamboyant street trolley, all of them possessed their own ode to the sometimes sensitive, sometimes ferocious, sometimes mysterious hues of emerald for which the city was named.

Galinda walked through the streets in silent awe of the mind behind such powerful beauty. The entire city was a masterpiece of design and structure, painted across the land of Oz like a single green brushstroke in the center of a collage of color. Only, if the Emerald City were the brushstroke of an artist, the artist had spent years sweating over perfecting each miniscule drop of paint to his liking, each shade and shadow, and the placement of each strand of the brush as it left its mark on the canvas. If the Emerald City were the brushstroke of an artist, he had been a genius to whom few could compare.

Lost in her scrutiny of the city, Galinda walked on, unaware of anything else until what would have been her hipbones (minus the obnoxious bustle of her dress) slammed into something hard and unyielding. She was snapped out of her daze immediately, and though she tried to conceal it, her face bloomed a vibrant shade of red when she saw the guard rail with which she had just collided. Instead of looking to see who had observed her embarrassing scuffle with the guard rail, Galinda took some time to examine the structure behind it. The stage where the Wizard would be appearing in a matter of minutes was a huge thing. From end to end, it spanned nearly one hundred feet in length. Though the guard rail was in place before the stage, there had been erected another one, quite similar in design and appearance, at the edge of the platform. Guards stood at strict attention every ten feet the length of the rail between the stage and the crowd. Though they gave off the impression of statues in their royal garb, stiff and silent, their eyes never stayed in one place for longer than a second, weighing, judging, and dismissing each member of the crowd in the space of a glance.

Suddenly, the blare of trumpets sounded directly ahead of her, and Galinda's eyes snapped back to the stage. The royal fanfare announcing the arrival of the Great and Powerful Wizard came to an abrupt halt as the man himself appeared from the double doors set into the back wall of the stage and Galinda was afforded her first glance of the man whom so many feared and just as many loved. Dressed in robes of deep emerald, the man who appeared before the suddenly silent crowd looked every inch the ruler of the most powerful nation in the world. He was incredibly tall and even through the thick fabric of his robes, his powerful chest and arms were apparent. His once coal black hair and goatee were streaked with the silver of his years, but only added to the sense of majesty he exuded. Dark brown eyes, set in an utterly masculine face possessing a squared muscular jaw and large, strong nose, scanned the crowd before him before coming to rest on Galinda who was standing just in front of him. A thoughtful look passed over his face before he glanced away and finally, he began to speak.

When he spoke, he spoke with ease and grace, his deep, baritone voice traveling on waves of magic to those even so far from the stage that he was but a speck in the distance to their eyes. Surprisingly, his speech was short and to the point, as if he was in a hurry to get it over with.

"Citizens of Oz, I wish to offer my most humble gratitude to those of you who have graciously accepted my invitation to this function. It is so very infrequent that we have the opportunity to experience something the magnitude of which I have called you here to see. I have someone with me today who I would like to introduce to you. This person, simply by being who they were born to be, and by the grace of Ozma herself of course, has today brought together the two most powerful lands in all of our world. I had intended on this day coming at a much later date, but events of which I will not bore you with the detail of have forced my hand it seems…" Here he paused as if to gauge his spellbound audience's knowledge of the aforementioned 'events.' Galinda had no idea what 'events' he was referring to, and by the continued silence of the crowd, she guessed no one else did either. Though obviously if it were something which would actually affect them, it would have been common knowledge by that point, so she, like the rest of the people in attendance gave it little thought.

Obviously satisfied with what he saw, the Wizard continued, his voice slightly louder than before, and Galinda felt the tingle of anticipation dancing in her stomach at the sound. "So, loyal citizens, you are the privileged few who will bear witness to the unveiling of the most wonderfully powerful human being our world has ever seen." In that moment, something occurred to Galinda which made her chest tighten almost painfully, but the thought was so ludicrous, so impossible, that she squashed it with every ounce of mental strength she could muster. Her thoughts whirled and twisted in her mind like the thick grey smoke that suddenly appeared behind the Wizard, boiling out of the double doors which were once again opened by the guards standing escort to either side of him.

A shadow, dark and tall was moving slowly though the smoke onto the stage. The effect was that of something terrible and powerful moving in the dark, like a beast from the wilds north of the city stalking its prey. The smoke clouded the doorway behind the Wizard so thoroughly, that even in the bright mid-afternoon sunlight, it was impossible yet to see what it was. Though she had convinced herself that what she was thinking couldn't possibly be true, Galinda's heart was pounding like a drum, deep and insistent, in her throat.

She was not the only one. Each and every member of the crowd, though they could not understand why, stood silently in the grip of a deep, paralyzing anticipation. Not even the sound of breathing punctuated the sudden stillness surrounding the stage. It was into this void of conscious thought that the Wizard finally spoke once more, his voice shattering the silence which had descended like a hammer to a delicate Gillikan vase. As he spoke, the shadow moved gracefully forward through the thick fog of smoke enveloping the far side of the stage.

"I would like to introduce, with the greatest of pleasure, Her Eminence, Elphaba Melanie Thropp…"

Galinda felt her jaw drop, as the shadow amongst the smoke materialized into the green woman herself, beyond radiant in a strapless black silk dress, the train of which trailed far behind her into the void beyond the smoke.

"…Empress of the Vinkus…"

Her heart continued to beat itself into a pulp against her trachea as Galinda stared in wonder at the woman who she had tried to overpower with a silly game of seduction less than a day earlier. The wizard reached behind him without looking back and Elphaba placed her hand imperiously over his arm, taking two steps forward to stand abreast of the most powerful man in the world. Her eyes were steel covered in lace as her gaze swept out over the awe struck masses before her. A light breeze swept over the crowd, teasing her waist-long midnight hair as Elphaba's eyes came to rest on Galinda herself. Their eyes locked as the Wizard added her final title.

"…and, my daughter, Princess of Oz."

The quiet which had stolen over the crowd at the appearance of the green woman sounded like a bull in a china shop compared to the silence which now reigned. Even the birds in the trees planted throughout the city ceased their singing as if conscious of the magnitude of the words that had just been spoken. Galinda stared into the honey-colored eyes of her roommate and felt a sudden calm.

All at once, without warning, applause erupted from the hundreds present, as if of a single mind, the sound of thunderous approval. It went on for several minutes, and all the while, the two women's eyes never left those of the other. It occurred to Galinda then what she had always seen dancing mysteriously in her roommate's eyes, like the ghost of a ghost, tangible, but just out of reach. It had been power. Long hidden, almost to the point of dormancy, the inherent power of the green woman now shown dangerously, like a razor's edge, in the eye's which held her own.


	11. The Politics of Dancing

Finally, some Galinda/Elphaba interaction. :]

This chapter is dedicated to The Darklight Angel who picked up on some rather ridiculous typos in the first posting of this chapter. Thank you, dear. :]

11. The Politics of Dancing

Far beneath the hallowed halls of the grand Emerald Palace there lay an underground labyrinth, a secret so very well kept that fewer than a dozen of those who were currently living could say they knew the truth of its existence. To scholars and historians, it was very well known; the legend of a legend from a fairytale of a truth so deeply hidden in the fog of time that its very existence was a matter for debate amongst those who knew enough to care. Those who knew and doubted were fueled by two basic emotions, so close in character that the distinction was often over looked.

The first was fear. Fear that if this particular place truly existed, then its very existence would be the only thing necessary to prove that the prophecy written so long ago and passed down in secrecy from generation to generation was not just a fairy tale written to scare those gullible enough to believe, but a terrible truth. Those who felt the pang of this particular emotion were driven by 'maybes' and 'what-ifs.' The second emotion, far more paralyzing in nature than the first, was fueled by knowledge, arisen from belief in the knowledge to be had. The second emotion was dread. In essence, those who knew of the prophecy and had studied the signs also knew that a certain stillness had fallen on history. In the past century, little had occurred to ripple the still waters which were the recent past. The calm before the storm, some would call it. Those who subscribed to the emotion of dread KNEW that the discovery of the secret hidden far below the surface of Oz would bring about horrors such as no one living had ever experienced, and few alive could imagine.

At the very same moment in which Galinda and the rest of those present at the Wizard's announcement were filling the air with the thunderous roar of applause at the appearance of their future ruler, the muffled clop of hooves could be heard echoing off the damp stone walls of the very halls and passage ways that dominated the nightmares of the brightest, most learned minds in all of Oz.

For those few who knew the truth of its existence, the damp walls and echoing chambers hidden deep in the earth held little in the way of fear beyond a certain feeling of timelessness. Behind the locked doors meant to discourage accidental discovery and the false floors and deadly traps meant to forever end the threat of the determined should the time arise, the stone walled maze became something almost living. It was a life that most assuredly had begun long ago, and would continue long after every other sentient spark of life on the planet had faded. For there was no doubt in any one's who had been there mind that this place was indeed sentient.

To the old Goat walking confidently along the twisted, living hallways, never once hesitating as he placed each careful step, this place which was considered the gate to hell on earth by so many was oddly comforting. Of course he knew the legends and the tales of this place, and it made him laugh to think what those people who so feared what they thought they knew would think of the truth. Reaching a 'Y' in the path he was walking, the old Goat sighed and knelt briefly to check his path. After only a momentary pause, a rushing noise beginning far back the way he had come filling his ears, the old goat continued calmly to the left. The rushing noise, like the sound of a thousand winds, died immediately, and a quiet bleating chuckle passed through the thin lips of the goat.

Several minutes later, no more new passageways had arisen, and the old goat arrived at a door the color of aged wood, but made of a substance so tough that nothing he had thought to try had yet been able to cause it any damage. It stood menacingly in front of him, a dozen feet tall and, when opened, at least a quarter as thick. He paused and tapped out a rhythm on the outside of the door, waiting patiently as the rushing sound started up once again far behind him. The sound grew closer, the hint of voices reaching his ears as the thing causing it took a left down the path he had followed earlier, gleefully seeking its prey. The door opened, and the old Goat walked calmly through the passageway, shutting the door behind him. The voices on the wind immediately faded to nothing.

"Hello, Ranvier," the Goat said in simple greeting to the cloaked figure in front of him, a small smile on his lips.

The figure threw back the hood of its cloak to reveal a stunningly beautiful woman. Her dirty blond hair, mussed from the removal of the hood, reached just past her shoulder blades, and her grey eyes shone with the spark of intelligence. "Rafael," she replied in greeting. "I had wondered when you would make an appearance. Where have you been," she continued, sweeping her cloak out of her way as she turned and headed deeper into the dark passage behind the door.

Rafael, known as Dr. Dillamond to his students at Shiz, allowed himself another brief smile before following quickly behind the retreating back of the tall woman ahead of him. "I had to travel with the staff, as those who are attending the ball all rode in a private carriage by the invitation of Morrible. It would have looked suspicious had I declined her invitation. It seems however, that your contact was correct. He introduced her just minutes ago."

Ranvier heaved an angry sigh in reply. "For once, I had hoped he was wrong. Just once! It is too damned early, Rafe! Those damned Vinkus clans couldn't keep themselves from killing if they tried! And to think that the Emperor was stupid enough to enter the battle with his troops! Yes, Elphaba is now Empress, but until she finishes her schooling that leaves…"

Dillamond answered her unfinished question. "Yes, that means the Wizard is in control of the Vinkus until she is finished. "

"And," Ranvier continued. "Isn't it a coincidence that her grandfather just happens to come down ill just before the unrest in the Vinkus turns to bloodshed, conveniently forcing Elphaba into the position of Empress of the Vinkus, as WELL as the Eminent Thropp all in a few weeks?"

Dr. Dillamond sighed. "Indeed, Ranvier. It IS rather convenient. For the Wizard. He now controls the land of Oz, as well as the Vinkus and Munchkinland by default."

They reached another door and Dillamond waited in silence while Ranvier produced a key ring the size of both of his hooves and began searching through keys it contained. She found the correct keys and began unlocking the five locks on the outside of the door, each one clicking in protest as she twisted it open. Throwing open the door, Ranvier stormed through the door way and slammed herself down on the giant leather couch adorning the center of the room. As always, Dillamond felt his breath taken away by the sheer grandness of the room in which he found himself.

The vaulted ceiling rose so far into the lightless depths above him that the torches flickering every few feet around the circular stone walled room could not dispel the blackness. Bookshelves stuffed with nameless artifacts, and books the like of which existed only here in this room lined the walls from the door he had just entered through to about three quarters of the way around, stopping short at a stone dais which took up the majority of the opposite wall. The leather couch which Ranvier was currently slumped moodily across was the main focus of the center of the room. A black wood table was placed directly in front of the couch, and matching side tables were stood to either side. Another table, at least thirty feet long, dominated the eastern side of the room, candles burning down the center. Though the table could easily seat twenty at any given time, he and Ranvier were the only two currently in attendance.

"Where are the others," the Goat inquired suddenly.

Ranvier closed her eyes as if thinking, though Dillamond knew it was simply for show. Ranvier was always one hundred percent sure of the whereabouts of each of the Order. "Lena and Talos are playing 'astounded crowd members' at the moment. They should be returning any time now to report back, as soon as that bastard finishes his 'grand announcement.' Lailah managed to get herself hired on as Elphaba's personal assistant, though Elphaba, of course, has no clue we're watching her. Lailah should be able to keep tabs on her when she is in the palace for the most part, but she won't be able to return until tonight after the ball. Jerrel and Sandy…" Here she paused, a tired look laced with pain crossing her face. "Jerrel and Sandy were discovered by the Time Dragon's guards. Banfel returned only hours ago to relate the news. There was nothing he could do. I told him to stay and rest, but he insisted on heading back out to follow that damned dwarf. Sheena went with him."

"The fates conspire against us, it seems," the old Goat replied with a sigh. "Time grows short, Ranvier. I believe Morrible suspects my involvement, though I doubt she guesses its depth. The Wizard is moving faster than we can keep up with and we have yet to find the Dreamer. If he finds her first…" He let his sentence trail off. Neither of them needed reminding of the consequences should someone else discover the one who would be the Dreamer before they did. Neither of them would allow it to happen, so they both refused to think of the alternative.

"I've got to get to her, Rafe. Soon. Things are progressing too fast. She's got to know what she's up against." Ranvier stared at him, silently pleading for an answer to their problems.

Dr. Dillamond did not have an answer. The best he could do was allow her the opportunity to do as she had requested. "Go to the ball," he replied finally. "Find her and tell her only enough to be sure she will be careful. You know she is distrustful of those she doesn't know. Do what it takes to get her to trust you. Use my name if you must. She has no idea how important she is…"

For the first time since Dillamond had arrived, Ranvier smiled, a malicious light dancing in her eyes. "We'll get that bastard yet," she replied.

…

To Elphaba, the endless lines of people hoping to get close to her seemed like a flock of sheep. So easily guided to what their master wanted of them. Of course her father wanted them to adore her, and so they did. She was green. And they loved her.

Her entrance on the arm of Fiyero had gone "exceedingly well," as her father had put it. Everyone had stared in wonder at the green girl wearing the white gold and diamond tiara of the Princess of Oz nestled in her raven hair. She had changed gowns as well, the purpose being, as her new assistant, Lailah, had put it; "… to bring out the beautiful honey color of your eyes, and, of course match the tiara." Elphaba had simply rolled her eyes and complied as she knew arguing would get her nowhere. She was as much a sheep in her father's flock as any of the rest of them.

The music ended and she was brought back to present time as she serenely nodded her thanks to the applauding crowd, her school mates and the faculty and staff of Shiz as well as visiting foreign officials each vying for a spot nearer the front so as to get a good look at her. Her school mates' change of attitude towards her came as no great surprise, and she felt no desire to use her now well known fortune and power to punish them for their previous cruelties. It was just another drop of water in the bucket of fun that was her life as far as she cared to notice.

Fiyero gripped her hand, once again pulling her out of her thoughts as he led her through the staring crowd to the edge of the dance floor. They would get a drink and then return after everyone else had had a chance to dance through one song. It was her duty, so said her father, the "Great and Powerful" Wizard, to be available and willing should any of her subjects wish for the opportunity to share a dance. The 'Coming Out Ball' was one of the few opportunities any of them would have to be in such close proximity to her in her official capacity. So she put a smile on her face, one which refused to travel to her eyes and deigned to suffer through it.

Her first dance after opening the ball with Fiyero was with none other than Galinda's father, Sventus Arduenna Upland, The Gillikanese King. He was a fantastic dancer, and he led her through the steps with barely a thought. Strangely, rather than the adoration and poorly concealed attempts at getting into her good graces which she had received from every other official present, his eyes held a vague sadness as he held her gently in his arms.

"So… Your Highness…" he began.

Elphaba cut him off immediately, surprising herself with a tired, but friendly chuckle. "No need for that, sir. Call me Elphaba. I'm sure you've heard enough about me from your daughter to be on first name terms."

Sventus laughed and gave her a knowing wink. "Indeed, Elphaba, I suppose I have. Call me Sven. I must confess that you are truly a surprise to me. The way she described you, I had expected some mud-footed green girl who would be just as overwhelmed by these proceedings as your classmates seem to be." He glanced over her shoulder briefly, and rolled his eyes at the students from Shiz who seemed less concerned with the correct steps to the dance than they were with trying to watch her every move. "Instead, I find myself dancing with a beautiful, graceful, albeit green, woman who makes me feel as if I need to brush up on MY dancing skills."

Elphaba smiled gratefully back into the dark grey blue eyes of Galinda's father, knowing full well that the compliment was not intended just for her skills at following the prescribed steps of the waltz to which they danced. "Thank you, Sven. You are very kind. I have a confession of my own to make. I assumed that when you asked to dance with me you were only going to berate me for whatever evils Galinda has placed at my feet. Obviously, I was wrong. I can see why she adores you so much."

This time, his laugh was one of full throated humor and his response was sprinkled with poorly held in chuckles. "Elphaba, Galinda would adore ANYONE who spent as much money on clothing and shoes for her as her mother and I do. Speaking of her mother…"

At that moment a woman so beautiful that Elphaba almost didn't catch her precariously dropping jaw appeared at her side. She was only slightly taller than Galinda, meaning that the top of her elegantly styled hair only reached Elphaba's nose. Her eyes were the same twinkling sky blue as her daughter's but they held the knowledge and self assuredness that only years as ruler of a nation could bestow. She was dressed in a shimmering ball gown of a pale yellow, her hands and arms covered by elbow length, white silk gloves. Elphaba felt a faint blush begin to rise in her cheeks as she stumbled through the last steps of the waltz, distracted as she was by Galinda's mother's sudden appearance.

Her admiration of his wife did not go unnoticed by Sven, who winked conspiratorially at her as the music stopped. "Gwen, our Galinda's roommate here is quite the dancer. I am sure she would be honored to have the opportunity to speak with you during the next song..?"

Galinda's mother gave a tinkling laugh, like the sound of chimes in a gentle breeze. "I would be honored myself, if she will have me. I was just going to request to cut in." She gave Elphaba a bright smile and a questioning look, as if Elphaba might actually refuse her a dance.

Elphaba smiled at Sven and put on a look of pure innocence. "Sven, had I know you had THIS woman hiding in the crowd, I would have searched her out myself."

Sven shook his head and slapped Elphaba gently on the back as if between old friends. "Take care of her for me, Your Highness," he replied before turning on his heel and disappearing into the crowd surrounding the dance floor.

The opening chords of the next dance, a tango, were played, and Elphaba took Galinda's mother's hand in her own and bowed, signaling without words that she would take the lead. They began to dance and Elphaba fell easily into the steps of the male half of the dance. Galinda's mother laughed gaily as Elphaba swept her into a graceful dip before continuing on. "My husband was not lying, you ARE quite the dancer."

Elphaba smiled at the woman in her arms. "I have always thought it strange that only a man should be taught to lead a dance. What would I have done had I not learned to lead and so had to turn down the opportunity to dance with one such as yourself?"

The Queen gave a giggle which reminded Elphaba far too much of her roommate as she twirled away and then back into the green woman's waiting arms. Elphaba placed her right arm around the shorter woman's waist; the blonde woman's back pressed into her front. "As you are obviously already on a first name basis with my husband, please do me the honor of calling me Gwen. And I hope that I may call you Elphaba," Gwen questioned her.

"Of course, Gwen," she replied, as she twirled her out and back again so that they were facing each other once more. "I hope that you and Sven will judge me on what you see with your own eyes rather than what you may have heard from your daughter," Elphaba stated, once again breaching the tender subject of their daughter's opinion of her. "I am afraid she was unable to look past the color of my skin at first, and I will admit that I wasn't overly friendly in return. For that I ask that you forgive me."

Galinda's mother chuckled and responded, "No need to worry, Elphaba. I know how my daughter can be, though I would venture to guess that her attitude towards you may change drastically after tonight."

Elphaba did not reply, not sure how to take the older woman's comment. Gwen looked at her for a moment before speaking once more, her tone changing from friendly and laughing to something more serious. "I may not know you, Your Highness, but I am a superb judge of character, and I am not taken by the flights of fancy my daughter seems prone to at times. You are an innately good person. That I know for sure. And I suspect that you are meant for far greater things than even your father knows yet. My daughter admires you. I can tell by the way she speaks of you in her letters. Behind all the complaining and, I won't lie to you, insults, there is a certain awe apparent even in her written words."

Elphaba looked thoughtfully at the woman before her. It came to her that perhaps, while she was known for her beauty, it was just the façade under which she chose to rule. A good ally to have, for sure. "Perhaps you are right," she replied simply with a grateful smile for the woman she held in her arms.

The music ended, and Gwen took her hand. "We will be in good hands when you take over." She glanced over Elphaba's shoulder and smiled to herself. "My daughter hasn't taken her eyes off of you since we began dancing. Would it be too much to ask for you to ask Galinda to dance? It would be a great honor for our family." Gwen smiled up at her and Elphaba knew then why she was such a beloved ruler.

"For you," she responded with a wink, "nothing is too much."

Gwen laughed delightedly at the compliment and placed her pale arm through a green one, allowing Elphaba to lead her off the dance floor, the majority of the crowd staring enviously after them. When they reached Galinda who was standing in the middle of a large group of their classmates pretending not to notice their approach, Gwen smiled up at Elphaba once more, an amused twinkle in her eye. "Galinda, darling," she called, playing along with her daughter's game.

Galinda looked away from the people she was talking to and feigned surprise at seeing her mother on the arm of her green roommate. She extricated herself from the crowd and made her way to where they were standing, refusing even to acknowledge Elphaba's presence as she greeted her mother. Elphaba laughed softly to herself, earning a frown from Galinda and a twitch of the lips from Gwen. "Galinda, why did not tell me what a delight your roommate is? You were quite lucky to be placed with her this year. And dancing! My, can she ever dance! I believe I may have to hire her to give your father a few lessons before your birthday next spring."

Galinda stared at her mother, a confused look on her face at her mother's tirade. Elphaba watched, bemused at the older woman's ability to bowl over even Galinda. By now, the entire group of students, Milla and Pfannee included, were watching the scene playing out before their eyes. Gwen giggled and leaned up to place a kiss on Elphaba's cheek. "Why don't you take her for a spin, Galinda? I think she could teach you something," she bubbled, still hanging on Elphaba's arm and playing the part of the ditzy blonde to a 'T'.

Elphaba had to bite down hard on her cheek to avoid letting slip her amusement at the red faced horror becoming increasingly apparent on her roommate's face. The crowd of students from Shiz stared on in wonder.

"Mother…" Galinda began in as much of a warning tone as she dared. Her eyes alternately begging her mother to shut up and promising Elphaba a painful death when this was over with.

"Oh…" Gwen looked at her daughter, suddenly dead serious. "Unless of course you don't feel that you can keep up with her? We wouldn't want you to embarrass the family by not being able to dance with the likes of the Princess of Oz…"

Galinda stared at her mother, her cheeks as red as the sunset sweeping in through the windows. Suddenly, she took a deep breath and grabbed Elphaba's hand, her eyes locking on to Elphaba's own. "May I have this dance?" She inquired sweetly.

Elphaba chanced a peek over Galinda's head at Gwen and felt her eyebrow twitch upward at the look of triumph on the woman's face. "Of course, Miss Galinda," she replied, holding in a smile at the amazed looks on the faces of Galinda's posse.

She led Galinda out onto the floor as the music began; a newer dance that took its roots from the Quadling countries. She looked a question at Galinda before realizing that the short blonde in the green strapless dress before her had never done this dance before. Elphaba calmly took Galinda's hands in her own, settling the right one around her waist, and the left around her neck. Placing both of her arms around Galinda's tiny waist she pulled her roommate close enough to feel the blonde's heart racing in her chest. She led Galinda into the steps of the dance, and was surprised that within seconds, her roommate had picked it up perfectly.

Sensing the nervousness Galinda felt at being pressed so tightly against her, Elphaba leaned down and whispered into the blonde curls surrounding her roommate's ear. "It only starts out slow, my sweet. It will pick up in a moment." Galinda shivered slightly as Elphaba pulled her mouth away from her roommate's ear, staring up at her with something close to terror in her eyes. Elphaba smiled reassuringly down at her as the song slowly picked up pace and Galinda flowed easily around the dance floor, matching her every step, their two bodies moving together like one. They did not speak through the entire dance, but Galinda's eyes did not leave her own until several seconds after the dance had ended and Elphaba suddenly realized that the crowd was applauding their performance.

She smiled down at Galinda who was still holding her hand and then nodded in recognition of the applause, before leading her roommate off the dance floor to where the King and Queen of the Glikkus stood beaming at the front of the crowd. Gwen gave Elphaba a hug as Sven placed his hand on Galinda's shoulder. "Did I not tell you that she was amazing, dear?" Gwen asked her daughter. Galinda only nodded, her eyes flicking down to her mother's arm still wrapped around Elphaba's waist.

Sven chuckled and shared a glance with his wife. "Well, ladies, I fear we must go spend some time in rather less entertaining company," he stated with a smile for the green woman. "Darling, you have fun and try to share our Princess with everyone else ok?" Sven and Gwen hugged their daughter and then Elphaba, and took off through the crowd hand in hand.

Elphaba watched them go and then turned her attention to her roommate, who had not spoken a word since before their dance. "Sorry about that, Glin. Your mother is rather persuasive, isn't she? I'll let you get back to your friends. You can tell them I bewitched her or something."

Galinda only nodded, her eyes staring at a place slightly to the left of Elphaba's face. Elphaba shook her head and turned to go, a smile decorating her face.

"Elphie…" Galinda called to her in a quiet voice. Elphaba turned to look back at her roommate, the smile still in place. "Elphie…" Galinda hesitated and then took a deep breath. "Can I talk to you please? Alone?"

Elphaba nodded her assent, not bothering to question her flighty roommate. "There is a balcony out that way," she said tipping her head to the left towards a set of double doors thrown open to let in the last dying light of day. "We can talk out there if you want?"

Galinda turned and walked towards the balcony without a word and Elphaba followed, wondering vaguely how long this would take. As they stepped over the threshold into the cool air of the oncoming night, Galinda hesitated as if unsure where to go. Elphaba sighed and took her hand, leading her to the left, out of sight of the doors. She reached the stomach high stone railing of the balcony and turned to face her roommate. Leaning back, she placed her hands on the edge to steady herself against the railing, a questioning look on her face.

Galinda was quiet for a minute, looking out over the edge at the city below them. "Elphie, why did you call me that?" She asked.

Elphaba looked at her, confused. "Call you what, Glin?"

"You called me 'my sweet' while we were dancing. Why did you call me that?"

Elphaba laughed. "Is that really what you wanted to talk to me about, Glin? I don't know why I called you that. Just seemed like the right thing to say at the time, I suppose."

Galinda sighed and looked up at her, taking a couple of steps closer until only a dozen inches separated them. "That's all?" She asked, a hint of disappointment lacing her voice. "It didn't… mean anything?"

It was Elphaba's turn to sigh. "Glin, I wasn't hitting on you, if that's what you're afraid of." Her tone became slightly angry before she could control it. "In case you've forgotten, I'm with Shen Shen. There ARE people who WANT to be with me, Galinda. So explain to me why you would be so vain as to think I would waste my time on you?"

Galinda only looked at her. Then, her voice calm and clear, she asked, "Who said I would be a waste of time?" By the end of her sentence, Galinda had pressed herself hard up against Elphaba, their breathe mingling on the last word.

Elphaba stared down at her, a small smile on her lips. "Glin, you've tried this before. I know you're not serious, and YOU know it doesn't work," she said quietly.

Galinda made a sound like a cross between a laugh and a purr deep in her throat. "Oh, but Elphie, I am VERY serious." And before Elphaba could process what she had said, Galinda's mouth was pressed against hers, her tongue dancing along Elphaba's bottom lip in a heated request for entrance.

Elphaba tried half heartedly to push Galinda off of her, but Galinda was having none of it. She wrapped her arms in a death grip around Elphaba's neck and her tongue resumed its quest for entrance into Elphaba's tightly closed mouth. Elphaba tried once more to push her away, thoughts of Shen Shen entering her mind. She succeeded only in pushing her roommate far enough back that she could focus on Galinda's hungry, half lidded eyes.

"Come on, Elphie. I want you," Galinda whispered in a voice that promised everything and nothing when they were truly alone again.

"Glin," Elphaba groaned, but all coherent thought of consequences and the problems this could cause left her brain as Galinda bit down on her bottom lip, sucking it between her teeth to meet the fervent caress of her tongue. Allowing her inhibitions to fly unfettered out the window, Elphaba wrapped her arms around Galinda's waist and in one swift movement; she turned and lifted the blonde onto the balcony railing. She heard something like a growl emanating from deep in her throat as Galinda pulled the skirt of her gown up past her knees and wrapped her bare legs around Elphaba's waist, pulling the green woman up against the heat flaring between them.

One arm still wrapped tightly around Galinda's waist, Elphaba dropped the other hand down onto one bare thigh and began tracing light circles with her fingertips a few inches above her roommate's knees. Galinda, her patience with the green girl's teasing worn thin several weeks ago, responded by gripping a handful of her long raven hair roughly in one hand, her other hand grabbing the green one tracing patterns on her thigh and pushing it up, inside the leg of her panties. Elphaba inhaled harshly at the feel of warm wetness that met her fingertips.

Galinda pulled her mouth away from Elphaba's and placed it against a green ear. Elphaba felt the tip of a pink tongue dart out and trace the outside of her ear, Galinda's ragged breathing sending chills up her spine. Giving in to the inevitable, Elphaba shoved two fingers deep inside her roommate. Galinda shuddered hard against her at the first taste of what the green woman would give her, and Elphaba suddenly felt something dark and somehow terrible rise up inside of her. She paused, her fingers still deep inside the tight wetness between Galinda's legs. "Elphaba," Galinda panted against her neck, "Fuck me."

It was an order. And Elphaba fully intended to comply. Then she heard a soft voice calling her name from behind her. Turning, she saw Shen Shen standing in the doorway that led back into the ballroom.


	12. Interlude 1 Departure and Acceptance

**Yes, this chapter is very short, but it is somewhat intended as an interlude. After this chapter, the REAL fun begins. Enjoy. **

**-Ms. H**

He laid before her, dark in the moonlight, the planes and lines of his body making shadowed patterns where the muscles were tensed in well tempered excitement. She settled down onto him and listened to his grunt of passion as he entered her with only vague interest. His erection was enormous, and he filled her emptiness with the momentary pleasure of sex and pain.

Physically, she was in the moment. Her chest heaved with the exertion of their movements, sweat ran in rivulets between her breasts and off the tip of her nose onto the muscles of his abdomen as she ground her hips into his, pushing him in as far as he could go, repeatedly trying to reach into and fill the emptiness that formed a dense void in her heart, her mind, her soul. But they were elsewhere; her heart in the hands of a queen, her mind on a lost quest for a dream, and her soul… her soul seemed to have drifted off on a search for the other half of herself. One cannot fill a place where nothing exists. Though she tried. How hard she had tried. Unwillingly she felt herself slip back to that night a week ago when everything and nothing had changed in less than a heartbeat.

"_Elphaba," Galinda panted against her neck, "Fuck me." _

"Oh Oz, Shen…" Elphaba had muttered to herself. The desire which had been rampant in her eyes only seconds ago disappeared in the space between one blink of her long dark lashes and the next. She had removed her hand from between Galinda's legs and then, wrapping her long strong arms around Galinda's waist Elphaba had lifted her gently off the balcony railing and set her on her feet where she tried her best to appear normal and proper and not at all aroused. She had failed spectacularly.

By that time, ShenShen had made her way over to the corner of the balcony where she and Elphaba had been hidden from the rest of the party in the ballroom. At this point her ability to recall what had occurred between her green roommate and her ex best friend faded drastically. Amazingly, ShenShen had seemed to remain calm throughout whatever was said, but whether through some trick of magic brought on by the sheer force of her Elphaba's will or because of the blood still pounding in her ears from her slowly ebbing arousal, try as she might, Galinda could not remember any words being spoken until ShenShen gave Galinda a hard, dangerous look and then turned to walk away. Elphaba had turned to her then and stated tiredly, as if to herself though she had addressed Galinda directly; "The true power of magic, Glin, is not in the will or strength of the one controlling it, but rather in the desire and faith of those who wish for it to be true." Galinda had nodded though she had no idea what her green roommate meant.

Galinda had floated through the rest of the night without truly hearing or seeing anything other than her roommate. Elphaba, entering the ballroom with every shred of dignity her position required perfectly intact, as though nothing untoward had ever occurred. Elphaba, dancing with Fiyero one last time, their dance made no less perfect or graceful by the obvious fact that they were intent on some discussion which involved more glances in Galinda's direction than it did attention to the nuances of a traditional Glikkun samba. Elphaba, being asked to dance by a beautiful, damn it, GEORGOUS woman with medium length dirty blonde hair, and large grey eyes. Elphaba, smiling that crooked smile that made Galinda's heart flutter around like an epileptic butterfly at the beautiful blonde woman as they flowed around the dance floor as if made for each other. Elphaba, as her smile gradually faded to something more serious, and annoyance entered her large dark eyes. Elphaba, as she walked unhurriedly over to Galinda to inform her that she was going to have to leave for a while. Elphaba, as she reminded Galinda where the true power of magic laid, her tone somewhat sad. Elphaba, as she exited the ballroom, hand in hand with the beautiful woman who had so captivated her, even after their little tryst on the balcony. Elphaba, gone.

It had been a week since the ball in the Emerald City. It had been a week since Elphaba had left, with no word to anyone except the few she had whispered to Galinda about her magic before exiting the ballroom for the last time. It had been a week since the Wizard had issued a reward for any information as to his beloved daughter and heir's whereabouts. It had been a week since Galinda's heart had been torn out her chest by the green hands of the most powerful woman in the world. And it had been a week since Galinda realized that, in the entire world, there was only one person she would ever love. A princess, a queen, an empress… her roommate. And the emptiness left by her departure was slowly eating away everything that was left of Galinda Upland.


End file.
